DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

The Nation’s Combat Logistics Support Agency March / April 2019

Holding the Line

A DLA Team Supports Military and Federal 

Agencies in Securing the Southern Border

Wholly Prepared

Federal Agencies Responding to Natural 

Disasters Get a Boost from DLA

The Way We Were

Progress and Achievements as Seen in Early 

Issues of Loglines’ Ancestor, DSA News

Marathon of Support

DLA Troop Support Provides New 

American-made Footwear to Recruits

Caring for Our Own

Child Development Centers at Five DLA Facilities Provide Quality 

Care for Employees’ Children
DLA Director 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

DLA Vice Director

Michael D. Scott

Chief of Staff

Kristin K. French

Director, Public Affairs

Joseph M. Yoswa

Deputy Director, Public Affairs

Patrick H. Mackin

Managing Editor

Phil Prater

Senior Editor

John R. Bell

Writers

Beth Reece

Dianne Ryder

Layout and Design

Paul Henry Crank

LOGLINES

THE OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION OF 

THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Loglines 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 official views of, 

or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department 

of Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

Loglines is prepared electronically, using desktop 

publishing applications; no commercial typesetting 

costs are involved. Photos not credited are 

courtesy of agency sources. Submissions and 

correspondence may be sent to the address below:

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency 

Office of Public Affairs 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 2545 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221

DLA ON THE WEB www.dla.mil www.twitter.com/dlamil

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

please email loglines@dla.mil with your name, 

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T

hroughout DLA’s proud history, this agency’s phenomenal 

workforce has been the bedrock of our success. We strive 

to improve DLA’s culture of excellence so we can continue to 

attract and retain the best and brightest. 

In this issue, we highlight two unique employee benefits that help 

enhance DLA’s reputation as a great place to work. The first is the 

availability of the Child Development Centers at some of our major 

installations. The CDCs allow parents to continue to serve our warfighters 

knowing their children are secure and receiving outstanding care. Choosing 

childcare is one of the most important decisions a parent will make. The 

CDCs go a long way in helping DLA parents focus on the mission, knowing 

their children are in a positive, engaging and educational environment.

DLA also offers its workforce educational opportunities, including 

the two-week business course at the University of Virginia described in 

this issue. Recently, 35 DLA employees took UVA’s Insights into Industry 

Management course, in which they explored the thinking behind business 

decisions in private industry. This perspective is important for our DLA 

employees to understand as we increasingly partner with industry to 

serve our warfighters.

Further illustrating industry partnerships, DLA Aviation provided 

an article that describes an out-of-the-box solution to the challenge 

of dwindling suppliers of aircraft parts — a “parts library.” DLA invites 

potential vendors to buy or borrow sample parts to take back to their 

manufacturing facilities with the intent of reproducing them for sale to the 

federal government. Nearly 200 parts are available.

Shoes are in the news for DLA Troop Support. After the 2017 National 

Defense Authorization Act mandated that the Department of Defense 

provide American-made footwear to military recruits at no cost to them, 

DLA Troop Support’s Clothing and Textiles supply chain has worked closely 

with military-service counterparts and American footwear manufacturers 

to get the program up and running. 

Other subjects in this issue include an overview of DLA’s growing 

portfolio of Whole of Government initiatives, including hurricane and 

wildfire response, as well as DLA support to U.S. Northern Command and 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We also introduce our new historian, 

Colin Williams, who contributed an informative article on military logistics 

during the Revolutionary War. Additionally, we include an outstanding 

interview with DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller; 

we look back at the “way we were” through past DLA publications; and 

much more. 

I hope you enjoy this collection of great stories from the nation’s 

Combat Logistics Support Agency. 

Warfighter First! 
Caring for Our Own ....................................................02

Child Development Centers at five DLA facilities provide quality 

care for employees’ children. 

Revolutionary Exit .....................................................06

Logistics support plays a key role in the successful evacuation and 

re-entry of New York City during the American Revolution.

The Way We Were

People and Progress .........................................................09

DLA has made great progress in its mission and in the achievements 

of its people, as seen in early issues of Loglines’ ancestor, DSA News.

Holding the Line .........................................................16

A team of experts from around the agency deployed to Texas to 

support military and federal agencies strengthening the United 

States’ southern border.

Parts Library ...............................................................20

DLA Aviation’s Replenishment Parts Purchase or Borrow Program solves 

procurement issues like long production lead times and rising supply costs.

Wholly Prepared ........................................................22

DLA’s Whole of Government Division continues to refine its 

support to federal agencies responding to natural disasters. 

Marathon of Support ................................................26

DLA Troop Support’s Clothing and Textiles Division provides 

American-made athletic footwear to recruits.

Industry Insights ........................................................31

Insights into Industry Management Course trains students in 

current and cutting-edge business practices, recognizing business 

risks and anticipating potential changes in private businesses.

DEPARTMENTS

A Conversation with 

Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller .............................13

DLA NewsWire ...........................................................29

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

Joshua Anderson

CONTENTS

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Hardly a child noticed when three 

of the Defense Logistics Agency’s 

Child Development Centers went 

from being contractor-operated to 

government-run in 2017. Minus a few 

new toys and fresh paint, most things 

stayed the same, including the staff. 

And that’s just what parents like 

Anastasia Prado of DLA Energy wanted.

“The CDC teachers genuinely love 

our children, and they’re the ones 

who raise them when we’re at work,” 

she said. “They teach them to use the 

bathroom and kiss their boo-boos, so 

it was really important to me and a lot 

of the other parents to make sure they 

were going to be able to stay on”.

Morale, Welfare and Recreation 

representatives who oversaw the 

centers shared parents’ concern. 

“It can be traumatic to a young child 

to have someone in such a primary 

role change, so it was critical that we 

put everything in place to make sure 

the same faces showed up the day we 

Story by Beth Reece

CARING

FOR OUR OWN DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS

Roxanna Ramos cares for babies at the Defense Logistics Agency’s Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Child Development Center, one of five centers at DLA major subordinate commands.

Phil Prater
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ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO COME OF THE 

TRANSITION IS THE TRUST AND APPRECIATION 

BETWEEN TEACHERS AND PARENTS

 — SARA BLADEN

reopened as government-operated,” said 

Lauren Langhan, a management analyst 

for MWR’s Child and Youth Program. 

All 192 contracted employees 

were given the chance to apply 

noncompetitively for government 

positions. Two years later, most of those 

same caregivers and teachers continue 

to provide structure and guidance to the 

children of DLA employees.

The rising cost of contractor-run 

centers and limited ability to make onthe-spot improvements led DLA leaders 

to convert the last of the agency’s 

contracted centers. The center in 

Columbus, Ohio, held a grand opening 

signaling its conversion in February 

2017. Centers in Richmond, Virginia, 

and Fort Belvoir, Virginia, followed in 

April and June 2017. 

The benefits of having all five 

centers under government operation 

— the other two were already 

government-run — far outweigh 

the struggles of the transition, said 

Blanche Ostrosky, MWR staff director 

for DLA Installation Operations. 

Standardization across all the centers, 

which collectively provide care for 

606 children ages 6 weeks through 5 

years, has brought the staff together, 

particularly as they work toward 

improving care and expanding training 

opportunities for teachers.

“A lot of our line-level employees 

didn’t have an opportunity for 

training, so we opened a new facility in 

Richmond. We kicked things off at a 

basic level on what MWR is as a whole 

and how we support the warfighter 

so they could truly understand the 

purpose of what they’re doing,” 

Ostrosky said.

Since the first classes commenced 

in October, more than 200 teachers 

have completed courses on 

customer service and basic financial 

management for activities like the 

CDCs, which are funded by user 

fees or other means instead of 

congressional appropriations. 

Being government-operated also 

gives staff the flexibility to implement 

changes, such as the recent rollout of a 

new child-abuse risk-assessment tool 

that identifies conditions, practices, 

work climates and other factors that 

could pose a threat to the safety, health 

or wellness of the children or staff. 

“Before, we’d have to go through 

contracting officials and maybe have 

a contract modification written just to 

implement a new initiative or something 

that came down from the Department 

of Defense,” Langhan said. “Now we can 

send out a memo for record signed by 

leadership and immediately start making process improvements” for things 

The conversion of DLA’s Child Development Centers from 

contractor-operated to government-run gives staff flexibility 

to make on-the-spot improvements to amenities like 

kitchens and laundry rooms and resulted in new toys and 

fresh paint at some locations.

Emtithal Sulieman reads a book with colorful illustrations 

to help develop babies’ voice and image-recognition skills 

at DLA’s Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Child Development Center.

Phil Prater

Photos by Tali Burress
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like kitchen upgrades and laundryroom expansions. 

Switching from contractoroperated administrative systems to 

DoD’s Child and Youth Management 

System was one of the biggest and 

most time-consuming challenges 

during the transition, she added. The 

online database compiles registration 

data and billing information, as well as 

shot records and health assessments. 

“It took a lot of effort to get folks 

trained and get all the information 

loaded into the system,” Langhan said. 

“But since then, we’ve also offered 

monthly webinars where we teach the 

staff on different topics and let them ask 

questions. Sometimes you don’t realize 

what issues you’ll have until you’ve 

actually started using the system.”

At the same time, DoD updated 

its training curriculum for teachers. It 

includes 13 topics such as safety and 

professionalism, plus two modules 

on the prevention of child abuse. The 

training was previously paper-based but 

is now provided through DoD’s Virtual 

Lab School.

“The website includes videos and 

competency assessments where the 

staffer is observed in the classroom 

to ensure they’re implementing what 

they’ve learned. It gives them an 

interactive way to learn, and it was 

nice that the online material became 

available just as we were transitioning,” 

Langhan said.

Instruction for the children has 

changed minimally since the previous 

contractor already used DoD’s Creative 

Curriculum and Gold Assessment 

programs created by Teach Strategies. 

Creative Curriculum allows teachers to 

adapt learning activities to children’s 

interests and development stages. 

“The teacher may observe one of 

the infants is attempting to roll over 

but didn’t quite make it, for example. 

Lesson plans will then be geared 

toward helping the child develop that 

“THE CENTERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES 

TO GO TO WORK AND DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO TO 

SUPPORT OUR WARFIGHTERS WITHOUT WORRY.”

 — TRACY CHARLES

Katelyn Brusso, a staff member at DLA’s Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 

Child Development Center, takes children on a short journey 

during a Book Walk featuring “Pete the Cat and His Very 

White Shoes” in May 2018.

Playgrounds at DLA Child Development Centers are 

designed to help children advance their large motor skills.

Tali Burress

Teodora Mocanu
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technique, as well as reaching for 

objects,” she said. 

A drawback in becoming 

government-run is dwindling budgets 

and staffing, said Tracy Charles, 

director of the Columbus center. 

“My biggest concern now is staffing. 

It was a beautiful thing to be able to go 

to the contractor and say, ‘Hey, you’re 

short staffed, take care of it.’ It used to 

be their responsibility to fill in the holes 

and hire more people,” she said. “Now, 

I can’t just call the contractor and make 

them take care of it.”

The transition did, however, lead to 

the hiring of four supervisory program 

specialists at the Columbus center.

“We now have supervisory program 

specialists, one each for infants, toddlers, 

preschool and prekindergarten. They 

serve as an extra layer of support for 

both classroom staff and management,” 

Charles added. 

One of the best things to come of the 

transition is the trust and appreciation 

between teachers and parents, said 

Sarah Bladen, a supervisory program 

specialist who has worked at the Fort 

Belvoir center since it opened in 1998. 

When moms and dads reacted to 

announcements of the change with 

concern for those providing care, it 

made staff members like her realize 

they were valued.

“People kept coming up to us and 

saying, ‘I hope you’re staying, I hope 

you’re staying,’” Bladen said. “There 

was no question my mind. This is my 

home; I know the families. I know the 

kids. Why would I go somewhere else?”

Becoming government employees 

also gave staff access to a wider range 

of benefits. 

“I’ve watched teachers under 

contract really struggle with benefits. 

Health insurance was often out of 

their reach from an affordability 

standpoint, but now many of them 

can afford it for the first time in their 

lives,” Charles said. 

And many DLA employees consider 

the CDCs a job perk. Prado sometimes 

walks to the center to hold or nurse her 

1-year-old son during lunchtime. 

“I’ve had job offers from other 

places for more money or same or 

better benefits, but those places 

couldn’t offer me the same peace of 

mind I have knowing that my kids are 

getting an education here,” she said, 

adding that CDC staffs are focused 

on developing children’s abilities. 

Her 1-year-old son can already count 

to 10; and the older one could write 

before he entered kindergarten. 

Though some would argue 

that MWR facilities such as fitness 

centers are more important because 

of the number of employees who 

can take advantage of them, Charles 

said it’s heartwarming when a 

family member says her staff’s 

care was a deciding factor in their 

decision to remain at DLA.

“We had a dad just the other day 

who said coming here is the best way 

to start his day because he can go to 

work knowing his daughter is loved 

and well cared for, and that he can get 

to her quickly if something happens 

from a security standpoint,” she said. 

“The centers make it possible for 

our employees to go to work and do 

what they have to do to support our 

warfighters without worry.” 

Child Development Center staff, parents and children plant 

flowers in honor of Earth Day in April 2018.

Teodora Mocanu
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Story by Colin Williams

DLA Historian

REVOLUTIONARY

EXIT

T

here was nothing resembling the 

Defense Logistics Agency during 

the American Revolution, but 

logistics still played a defining role. 

This was especially true as the war 

ended and the British prepared to 

leave New York City in the fall of 1783 

after occupying it for seven years.

The message from the British 

that they would strive to evacuate 

Nov. 25 that year was a great relief 

to the Continental Congress. It had 

long struggled to provide Patriot 

forces clothing, food and fuel for 

heat and cooking, relying on loans 

from France and state donations in 

the absence of tariffs or income tax. 

Those warfighter needs, now fulfilled 

by DLA Troop Support, DLA Energy 

and DLA Disposition Services, were 

handled by leaders on the ground 

with any means available.

Funds were so lacking that in 

March 1783 several aggrieved officers 

planned to leave their posts and 

march on Congress in protest of its 

reversal on a promise of lifetime pay. 

However, Gen. George Washington 

persuaded them to back down.

So when the news of a tentative 

peace treaty reached Congress later 

that year, it decommissioned all units 

south of the Hudson Valley except a 

small garrison in western Pennsylvania. This way, the young American 

government would have fewer than 

2,500 troops to support after the British evacuated and winter approached.

The commander of the British forces 

in New York, British army Lt. Gen. 

Guy Carleton, had his own logistics 

problems. In addition to a nowenlarged force, he had to evacuate tens 

of thousands of Loyalists who didn’t 

want to live under the new American 

(Top Left) Hand-colored wood engraving titled Evacuation 

of New York by the British, Nov. 25,1783.

— Image Courtesy Library of Congress
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government. Conscience compelled 

him to include the city’s black 

freedmen as well, as many had escaped 

their Patriot masters under promise of 

British protection. Needing space for 

Loyalist property, military supplies and 

almost 60,000 people, Carleton could 

not depart until transports arrived 

from various parts of the Empire. Not 

knowing when that would be, he could 

not tell Washington when his troops 

could re-enter the city. 

While Carleton waited on transports, 

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Henry Knox, 

Washington’s commander in the north, 

worried about staging his forces for the 

coming winter. Knox operated out of 

West Point, New York, on the Hudson 

River. An ideal position for maintaining 

pressure on the British in both New 

York City and Canada, West Point had 

long been a Patriot stronghold. 

Unfortunately for Knox, barracks on 

the post could house only one regiment. 

More troubling, years of building 

fortifications and burning firewood had 

denuded the area of trees. Not knowing 

how many troops he needed to keep at 

the ready, Knox wrote Quartermaster 

Gen. Timothy Pickering. On Pickering’s 

recommendation, Knox sent two 

regiments to huts in Connecticut, 

keeping the 4th Massachusetts at West 

Point and converging the rest of his force 

at King’s Bridge, north of Manhattan. 

While the Connecticut huts were close to 

a wood source and numerous enough to 

house two regiments, they were in poor 

repair and far from the British.

Keeping even one regiment at West 

Point required a lot of firewood. To get 

it, Knox sent soldiers whose enlistments 

were about to expire to a hillside 6 miles 

away. There the soldiers cut down trees, 

removed their branches and rolled them 

to the base of the hill. Horse-drawn 

sleighs contracted by Pickering’s agents 

dragged the logs to the Hudson and 

loaded them onto flat-bottomed boats 

built on the spot. Soldiers with nautical 

backgrounds then manned the boats 

downriver to the landing at West Point, 

where other teams pulled the logs uphill 

to the barracks. 

Knox and Pickering worried 

about other preparations for the 4th 

Massachusetts. Experience at Valley 

Forge, Pennsylvania, and seven other 

winter encampments had taught them 

the need to provision troops with 

cold-weather clothing and sustenance 

as well as firewood. While contracts 

with local businessmen would keep 

soldiers fed through the winter, Knox 

informed Washington Oct. 15 that his 

men were “in a wretched situation for 

[lack of] warm underclothes, having 

only . . . their overalls and waistcoats 

purchased by themselves last spring.” 

Although Knox and Pickering never 

fully resolved the clothing shortage, 

they were at least able to eliminate the 

need for forage by keeping no horses 

at West Point.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Henry Knox portrait by American artist 

Gilbert Stuart.

Quartermaster Gen. Timothy Pickering portrait by American 

painter Charles Willson Peale.

Howard Pyle drawing of the Continental Army marching 

down the Old Bowery, New York, Nov. 25, 1783.

Image Courtesy Library of Congress

Image Courtesy The Athenaeum

Image Courtesy Independence National Historical Park
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Knox gave command of his troops 

at King’s Bridge to Army Brig. Gen. 

Henry Jackson. Coming from four 

separate corps and numbering almost 

a thousand, these troops were unsure 

of the reception they would face. 

Both the retreating redcoats and the 

Loyalists who remained in the city 

posed potential, if unlikely, threats. 

Fortunately for both sides, the 

British departed peacefully Nov. 25 

and the few Loyalists who remained 

were too intimidated to contest the 

Patriots’ arrival. After securing the 

city and escorting Washington and 

New York Gov. George Clinton, 

Jackson turned in his cannon, 

released a third of his command and 

found lodging for the rest. 

With the British gone, Washington 

announced that he was resigning his 

commission. Leaving what remained 

of his army in the capable hands of 

Knox and Pickering, he departed for 

Annapolis, Maryland, to resign his 

commission before Congress. His last 

days in command had been dictated 

not by military force but by the arrival 

of British transports and the acquisition 

of firewood for his troops. 

The evacuation and American 

re-entry of New York City, despite 

occurring before the United States 

had an executive branch, much 

less a Defense Logistics Agency, 

included logistical challenges that are 

recognizable today. 

May 20-22, 2019

Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center

National Harbor, MD

www.WWEnergyConference.com

Lithograph of “Evacuation Day” and Washington’s Triumphal 

Entry in New York City, Nov. 25th, 1783 by E.P. & L. Restein

Image Courtesy Library of Congress
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Story by John R. Bell

T

he director of the Defense 

Logistics Agency has often said 

the people of DLA are the most 

important element in the success of 

the agency — the “secret sauce” of 

DLA’s success, according to Army Lt. 

Gen. Darrell Williams.

That sauce may be made from an 

heirloom recipe, based on headlines 

from copies of the agency’s early 

publications. DLA employees’ 

achievements over the decades, along 

with progress in society, technology 

and the agency itself are all on display 

in Loglines’ ancestor publications, 

Defense Supply Agency News and 

DLA Dimensions.

THE WAY WE WERE

PEOPLE AND PROGRESS

Despite the cringe-inducing sexism, 

the fact that Brady was DSA’s chief of the 

Defense Traffic Management Service, 

later absorbed by U.S. Transportation 

Command, shows that the agency was in 

fact open to women as leaders.

And the final issue of that year features the headline “DSA HQ Management Specialist Finds Personnel Field 

Excellent for Woman,” combining a 

sexist gaffe with incorrect use of the 

singular noun. Even five years later, 

the Nov. 1, 1968, issue crows about an 

“All-Girl” team of contract administration specialists, describing one as 

“attractive, blonde, soft-spoken” and 

another as “titian-haired.”

The first issue of DSA News was 

published Jan. 16, 1963, one year 

after the agency got up and running 

at Cameron Station in Alexandria, 

Virginia. The newspaper-style 

publication, unlike Loglines or DLA 

Dimensions, was solely for employees 

and published every three weeks. 

Women Leading

Although the achievements and 

changes at what would become DLA 

are numerous in these early issues of 

DSA News, another aspect also stands 

out: dated attitudes toward women. 

Fortunately, the publication’s language 

and tone toward women employees 

improved markedly by the 1970s. 

At the same time, it’s clear 

in the old newsprint that agency 

women, despite being the brunt of 

stereotypes regrettably common in 

that era, managed to rise through the 

ranks and become leaders at DSA — 

perhaps more frequently than their 

counterparts in industry or other 

government agencies.

An early 1963 headline reads “Strawberry Blond [sic] in Uniform Chief of 

DTMS Manpower Division.” The article 

notes Navy Cdr. Kathleen Brady had 

joined the Navy during WWII and 

roomed with the daughter of a former 

French prime minister. Together the 

girls mastered such unfeminine subjects 

as identification of ships and aircraft, 

according to the article.

DSA News, renamed DLA News in 1977, was the agency’s 

internal newsletter from 1963 through 1978.

Henry Stephenson (right) explains duties to Rance Stone, 

Defense Depot Tracy’s first blind employee, who was also 

nearly deaf, as featured in the Dec. 26, 1969, issue of 

DSA News. 
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As gauche as such language is to 

modern ears, these articles also show 

that DSA had women leaders more 

than a decade before the Civil Rights 

Act would be passed and long before 

women managers became common in 

the business world.

A milestone of real change can 

be seen in the Feb. 7, 1977, issue 

of what by this time was Defense 

Logistics Agency News. The issue 

used a theme of equal opportunity 

to present articles on successful DLA 

women, including African-American 

women. On the front page, “Court 

order: Promote women” headlines 

a story detailing the implications 

of a 1976 victory by a female 

Department of Labor employee in 

a sex-discrimination case. Another 

notes “7 women hold key positions” in 

DLA’s San Francisco District Quality 

Assurance Division. It even offers 

Even more notably, AfricanAmericans working for DSA were 

making their mark as supervisors, 

managers and scientists.

In fact, even before the march 

on Selma, an African-American 

woman was leading a team at 

DSA headquarters in Virginia. A 

March 11, 1964, feature on women 

leaders included Doretha Bebbs, a 

physicist and researcher serving as 

a division director in the Defense 

Documentation Center, now the 

Defense Technical Information 

Center. Bebbs was again featured 

a statistical breakdown of the DLA 

workforce demographics, though using 

terminology now considered offensive.

African-Americans Emerge

These oldest issues are also notable 

by the near absence of AfricanAmericans, Latino-Americans, Native 

Americans or Asian-Americans. But 

beginning in the mid-‘60s, signs of 

progress began to show. In fact, there 

is evidence DSA, though still with 

room to improve, was a place where 

African-Americans managed to rise 

through the ranks and excel. 

DSA physicist Doretha Bebbs was chief of the Research, 

Development, Test and Evaluation Division, then part of DSA. 

She was also part of the original group that created the first 

edition of the Defense Documentation Center’s technical 

vocabulary for computer use. 

Ralph Beverly, who served as assistant chief of the Retail 

Branch in DSA’s Interservicing Division, began his federal 

career as a messenger in 1939.
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in the May 20, 1964, issue after 

becoming the division chief of the 

Research, Development Test and 

Evaluation Division of DSA.

Bebbs earned her bachelor’s and 

master’s degrees in physics from 

Howard University in Washington, 

D.C., and married a physics instructor 

there. She had begun her career at the 

Library of Congress and worked as a 

supervisory librarian, writer and editor 

before being promoted to GS-14 in 

1962, the article notes.

Given her scientific background, 

Bebbs “was one of the original group 

that created the first edition of DDC’s 

technical vocabulary for computer use,” 

the article notes. She was also a member 

of the Army ad hoc group on scientific 

and technical information.

Another noteworthy black leader at 

DLA’s predecessor was Ralph Beverly, 

who served as assistant chief of the 

Retail Branch of the Interservicing 

Division at DSA Headquarters. 

According to the May 11, 1964, issue 

of DSA News, Beverly, despite having 

earned a bachelor’s degree from what 

was then Hampton Institute in Virginia 

— alma mater of the agency’s current 

director — had to start his government 

career as a messenger in 1935.

“I took every Civil Service exam for 

which I was qualified and passed them 

all — exams in everything from clerk 

typist to economist — but for five years 

I remained a messenger,” he recalled. 

Beverly, an amateur violinist, got his 

first professional job as a clerk-typist for 

the War Department, predecessor of the 

Department of Defense, in 1940. 

Mentioned briefly on the last page 

of the Oct. 4, 1968, issue is Matilene 

Berryman, who was about to take 

on a temporary duty breaking down 

marine-sciences data for disadvantaged 

youth. Berryman appears to have 

been something of a pioneer for both 

women and African-Americans. The 

article notes she had earned a bachelor’s 

degree in mathematics, taught 

oceanography at the Navy and “was the 

courageous African-Americans 

like Lillie Mae Brown held the agency 

accountable for implementing equal 

opportunity. Brown was inducted 

into the DLA Hall of Fame in 2018 

for leading a 1974 class-action lawsuit 

that forced DSA to fully comply with 

the Equal Employment Opportunity 

Act of 1972.

Brown ended up retiring from DLA 

as a GS-13 in 1994, after pioneering 

multiple technological innovations 

still in use at DLA. 

FOR MORE ABOUT LILLIE MAE BROWN’S DLA 

ACHIEVEMENTS VISIT WWW.DLA.MIL/INFO/HALLOFFAME

lone representative of her sex in a sonar 

engineering class of 46 students at Penn 

State University.” 

Not mentioned is that she later 

became chair of the Department of 

Environmental Science at the University 

of the District of Columbia, according 

to her Washington Post 2003 obituary. 

She went on to earn a law degree and 

become a practicing attorney.

Notwithstanding these pioneers, 

it’s clear DSA and DLA had plenty 

of room to improve. Fortunately, 

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Because DSA News was only for employees, it regularly featured 

stories on employees’ hobbies, offering insight into DSA employees’ 

personalities in a world without social media, the internet or even 

portable phones.

Performing as a magician every weekend was the avocation of the 

DSA publications chief, Earl Gilbert, the May 20, 1964, issue reported. 

The “massive biceps” showing under a “colorful Ban Lon turtleneck” 

combined with “the slim hips of a ballet dancer” hinted at the karate 

skills of Orville (Tony) Tonoda, an illustrator in DSA headquarters 

profiled in April 21, 1967. Tonoda was a Navy veteran who took up the 

martial art while stationed in Okinawa.

Nobel Bare was featured in the Sept. 20, 1968, issue for his skill 

entertaining kids as a comic for a local kids’ show, including his skill 

imitating various animals. 

Boasting an encyclopedic sports knowledge was “Peggy the 

Receptionist,” as the April 7, 1967, headline dubbed Peggy Wagner of 

Defense Contract Administration Services Philadelphia.

The Old West pistol-wielding skills of Carl Nikulka, an employee of 

Defense Depot Tracy, California, were profiled in the Nov. 1, 1968, issue. 

An article from Dec. 18, 1964, explores the hobby of Jack and Viola 

Kirakofe, a married DSA couple who bred and kept rare geese, ducks 

and swans at their Pennsylvania home — going so far as to bring 

back eggs from Iceland. (One hopes the birds never flew near the 

Nikulka home.)

A large collection of preserved butterflies and moths gathered by 

James McGowne at the DCAS region in Los Angeles was featured in the 

Dec. 22, 1972, DSA News. Raymond Huber Jr. of DSASO in South Bend, 

Indiana, is noted in the March 22, 1968, issue for his multiple trophies in 

competitive water skiing. And a rock collection including asteroids was 

the hobby of Emily Bettey, the May 31, 1968, DSA News reported.

— John R. Bell
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Still-Hidden Figures

Even with this progress, most of the 

1960s issues of DSA News have little to 

no mention of other employees of color 

nor those with disabilities. This seems to 

have started to change around 1967; the 

June 5 issue that year notes the creation 

of a new EEO training program for 

supervisors. And the front-page headline 

for March 3 that year touted the 

director’s endorsement of “affirmative 

action for positive and creative equal 

employment opportunity,” outlining 

how the agency will comply with the 

just-issued executive order to create an 

EEO program. 

Directly underneath is a photograph of Tita Valderrama, a FilipinaAmerican clerk-typist at Tracy Depot, 

California, who may be the very first 

Asian-American shown in the agency’s 

official publications.

A more significant look was given 

to Kay Kono, a secretary at Defense 

Contract Administration Services 

Region Los Angeles. The Dec. 28, 

1970, issue notes she was named one 

of 10 Outstanding Employees of the 

Year. During WWII, Kono, a JapaneseAmerican, was forcibly relocated with 

her family from their California home 

to an internment camp in Arkansas. 

Despite this, after the war she worked 

for the Army and the Air Force before 

joining DSA.

The Sept. 20, 1968, DSA News 

sums up the paradox that DSA seems 

to have been in its sincere drive to be 

more inclusive combined with stubborn 

habits and attitudes. “Real Life 

Cases Show Problems of Minorities” 

described the new EEO course in which 

supervisors discussed real incidents of 

racial conflict from around the agency. 

However, a photo on the same page 

shows a Caucasian employee dressed in 

a Native American costume as part of a 

Pioneer Day event at the DSA location in 

Ogden, Utah.

Real Native Americans were long 

underrepresented in DSA News. The 

July 19, 1967, issue mentions American 

Indian students arriving at the agency’s 

Ogden depot for summer jobs. Two 

years later, Navajo employee Cindy 

Morris, a clerk-typist at DSA Depot 

Ogden, Utah, is shown collecting food 

for Navajo neighbors in need. 

More substantive was an article 

about DSA’s efforts to help the Bureau 

of Indian Affairs prevent discrimination 

against Alaska natives in the April 18, 

1969, DSA News. And a story in the Dec. 

28, 1970, issue outlines DSA’s effort to 

provide equipment to train members of 

the Navajo tribe to be machinists.

Hispanic employees were likewise 

nearly unmentioned through the ‘60s 

— until the Nov. 15, 1968, article about 

Carlos Ruiz, a DSA photographer and 

color technician who had photographed 

every U.S. president since Eisenhower, 

along with Queen Elizabeth and 

Soviet Premier Khrushchev. Ruiz’s 

interest began while serving in Dutch 

Guyana during WWII, when he began 

experimenting with natural-light 

photography, the story explains. Ruiz 

was a native of Rincon, Puerto Rico.

Finally, DSA was making efforts to 

employ more people with disabilities. A 

feature on Mary Royal showed that DSA 

was already employing individuals with 

disabilities in meaningful work 22 years 

before the Americans with Disabilities 

Act. Royal, who used a wheelchair, 

worked for the Defense Documentation 

Center, a unit of DSA and then DLA 

before it became the Defense Technical 

Information Center. The story describes 

her work as a highly regarded secretary 

and volunteer pianist for the USO. “This 

past fall she tried her hand at bowling 

and hopes to join the DDC Bowling 

League next season,” it concludes.

The agency’s effort to employ 

more people with disabilities was 

noted in “Managers Urged to Spot 

Jobs For Handicapped,” in the Sept. 

15, 1967, issue. 

A few months later, articles in the 

Feb. 23, 1968, issue noted the agency’s 

purchases of products made by blind 

people and of tents made by those with 

developmental disabilities. The May 

17 issue of that year mentions that 

Zelpha Coalt, a technical editor with 

multiple sclerosis, was one of two DSA 

employees to attend a meeting of the 

President’s Committee on Employment 

of the Handicapped.

And a small feature on Debbie Hobin 

in the Nov. 24, 1967, DSA News, notes 

that even with no use of her left hand due 

to cerebral palsy, she was able to type 40 

words per minute with ease in her job at 

Defense Depot Tracy, California.

Three years later, Ralph Harwood, 

a deaf chemist working in clothing and 

textiles, was nominated for Outstanding 

Handicapped Federal Employee of the 

year, the Jan. 9, 1970, issue reports.

Despite reflecting the biases of 

the time, the pages of DSA News also 

show what made DSA and DLA great. 

They portray an imperfect, yet earnest, 

group of people working together to 

do great things, striving and ultimately 

succeeding in their common quest to 

serve a greater cause. 

Cindy Morris, a DSA clerk-typist at what was then DSA’s 

depot in Ogden, Utah, was also a member of the Navajo 

tribe as shown here in the Jan. 9, 1970, issue of DSA News.
DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller

What are your first impressions of DLA Energy?

Everyone I’ve met has been tremendous 

in their knowledge. I’m really excited about 

my time here. DLA Energy has a workforce 

that’s doing amazing things for our nation.

It’s not just for the Department of 

Defense, but our Whole of Government 

partners as well, especially when it comes 

to humanitarian needs. My first week here, 

I got a view of the hurricane relief efforts 

and what DLA Energy teams do to support 

response operations. 

Also, one of my first honors as the 

commander was to preside over the 2018 

A Conversation with

DLA Energy Hall of Fame ceremony and 

recognize the contributions and legacy of 

four leaders who have had a huge impact on 

the organization.

Recently, the DLA director released the results 

of the 2018 DLA Culture and Climate Survey. 

What are some of the DLA Energy-specific 

results and key takeaways?

The attitude of everyone I encounter 

validates the results of the Culture and Climate 

Survey. DLA Energy can take pride in a 22.2 

percent increase in the 12 indexes that are 

measured along with receiving the highest-ever 

index score of 66. Going forward, it’s important 

to sustain the great culture and create a 

comprehensive culture action plan suitable for 

the workforce. 

It’s also vital to measure the impact of the 

culture for effectiveness in warfighter support. 

I want everyone to be satisfied and happy and 

proud to work for DLA Energy. Culture will drive 

everything — the organization, the command 

and, in the end, support to the warfighter.

Speaking of people and culture, what are 

some efforts aimed at developing the DLA 

Energy workforce? 

DLA Energy is developing the workforce 

through three standing workforce councils — 

Culture Council, Supervisory Council and Training 

Council — which encourage multilevel, transparent 

communication within our organization. In 

addition, we introduced the DLA Energy Career 

Management Portfolio and are encouraging DLA 

The commander of Defense Logistics Agency Energy shares highlights 

and expectations for the coming year.

AIR FORCE BRIG. GEN. 

ALBERT MILLER Connie Braesch

By Elizabeth Stoeckmann, DLA Energy Public Affairs

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March / April 2019 13

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION
Energy nominees for the Executive Development 

Program. All these efforts are aimed at developing 

the DLA Energy workforce.

How do you feel your past experience prepares 

you for the leadership role here at a major 

subordinate command?

It’s my joint experiences that prepare me, 

coming from a kinetic environment. At U.S. 

Central Command, I saw day to day how DLA 

Energy’s mission unfolded and the hurdles they 

had to overcome. It was very valuable to get a 

DLA perspective in that particular theater. As 

the chief of plans for the Joint Staff, I understood 

how important planning and logistics are to 

DLA Energy. Most importantly, in my very first 

assignment in the Air Force as a tanker pilot, I 

saw the very tactical end of what DLA Energy 

provides in fuel to joint and coalition partners. 

For me in my experience, it came full circle from 

the tactical to the strategic view point.

How does the battle rhythm differ between 

operational and staff environments?

Different but the same. I came from an 

operational assignment in the Middle East as 

director of the CENTCOM Deployment and 

Distribution Operations Center and deputy 

director of the CENTCOM Logistics and 

Engineering Directorate at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, 

where it was very dynamic. 

DLA Energy is a lot like that, with day-to-day 

mission-support operations around the world 

as we keep our finger on the pulse of what’s 

going on in every theater of the globe. There’s 

an incredible amount of work going on to ensure 

the services are getting the energy they need 

to accomplish their mission, whether training or 

operational. There’s also an important, deliberate 

planning piece to ensure we’re postured to 

support the department’s vision and readiness 

goals and we’re ready to have DLA Energy where 

it needs to be for our services around the globe.

How does DLA Energy’s Dynamic Operating Plan 

connect with the agency’s priorities into 2019 

of continued warfighter support, audit support 

and defense reform? 

Warfighter support will focus heavily on 

combatant commands changing requirements 

in an efficient and innovative way that drives our 

energy support to the warfighter.

The defense reform initiative will grow through 

utility contracts. The Navy has agreed to use 

an annual contract agent for their utilities that 

will provide a cost-savings of $2.4 million for 

the Department of Defense. Additionally, the Air 

Force is piloting the development of an Energyas-a-Service Program at two bases. To meet their 

energy needs, DLA Energy can bundle energy 

to support utilities — infrastructure, maintenance 

and energy support — in regulated and nonregulated environments.

Audit-support efforts will establish a beginning 

balance for fiscal 2019. We’re also providing 

evidential matter that validates processes 

conducted at 98 site locations in fiscal 2018. This 

goal will reflect DLA Energy as the first in DLA 

to assert a beginning balance for fiscal 2019. 

Additionally, DLA Energy is the lead for three 

Notices of Findings and Recommendations, 

which involve a comprehensive analysis and 

require the responsible office to remediate and 

correct the NFR.

What are your vision and goals for the 

organization over the next couple of years?

Having the assumption of command 

and strategic off-site with the regional 

commanders was extremely beneficial right up 

front. We looked at the strategy map and what 

was accomplished for last year and what we 

can expect for the upcoming year. My vision 

is right in line with the previous DLA Energy 

vision; we’re synchronized with the director’s 

strategy map for all of DLA. 

We’re going to focus on our dynamic 

operating plan to ensure we have 

achievable initiatives for the fiscal year with 

measurable goals to move the enterprise 

forward. We’re looking forward to being 

proactive of the warfighter’s needs and 

supporting the National Defense Strategy 

Dynamic Force Employment. Collaboration 

is essential for success. 

How do you see DLA Energy improving readiness 

and combat capability for the warfighter?

Through strategic, deliberate planning 

for potential contingencies and warfighter 

needs. Every single day, DLA Energy 

provides fuel to the services for training and 

makes sure they have it where they need it 

for war plans. This is our bread and butter: 

day-to-day operations.

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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller hopes to improve warfighter 

readiness and combat capability through strategic, deliberate planning for potential 

contingencies and by anticipating needs.

Connie Braesch

How would you describe your leadership style?

Empowering leadership. I absolutely trust 

people to do their jobs. They’re the experts. I 

want them to be bold and look at the factors, 

and if it’s appropriate for them to make a 

decision at their level, I want them to do that. If 

the decision is not at their level, I expect people 

to communicate issues up the chain to the 

appropriate level for a decision.

We have an incredible workforce that knows 

their job and knows it better than anybody else. 

If they’re the right person to make a decision, 

they need to know that I trust them to make the 

right decision. 

Maintaining balance is another tenet of mine. 

We can’t have everyone sprinting through a 

marathon; we have to maintain balance and not 

run out of gas. I also can’t overemphasize the 

importance of respecting everyone’s dignity and 

working together to achieve goals.

What are your expectations of your senior DLA 

Energy leaders?

I want them to lead boldly, make 

decisions and empower their personnel. 

That’s how we build our bench of future 

leaders to step in when we move on. I want 

them to develop, mentor and empower 

our younger leaders. We can do this by 

emphasizing the tools provided in the DLA 

Energy Career Management Portfolio, 

which outlines a variety of professional 

growth opportunities both within DLA and 

across the government to help employees 

build individual development plans and 

manage their careers. 

What are you most looking forward to during 

your assignment with DLA Energy?

Getting to know the people and what they 

need. The more you know people, the better you 

understand their issues and the amazing things 

they are doing. That’s what recharges my battery 

— it’s not sitting in front of a computer monitor; it’s 

engaging face-to-face and asking what I can do 

for them to make their jobs better.

Our employees are our greatest resource and 

with that in mind, we’re committed to providing 

the skills, tools and supportive resources that 

empower them to meet the demands of DLA 

Energy’s current and future mission requirements.

Being a geographically separated military 

spouse, how do you and your family handle 

separation, especially with school-aged children?

Technology becomes a double-edged sword. 

I Facetime my family all the time. I’m only one 

time zone away, compared to being in theater 

with a 10-hour time difference. Virtually, we do 

some deliberate things like eat dinner together, 

play cards and have conversations. It’s hard and 

emotionally challenging to miss important years of 

my children’s lives. 

My advice for those who deploy is to take 

a family vacation away from home so you can 

really connect as a family without distractions. 

We’ve already made plans like that. It’s also really 

important to thank the family for their support. The 

real heroes are the children; they are along for the 

ride and never had a vote for this lifestyle.

The word is you enjoy outdoor activities 

and recreational sports. What else makes 

you human? 

Family first. Then recreational skeet shooting 

and scuba diving. 

In closing, I’m really excited and couldn’t be 

more humbled and proud for this opportunity to 

lead an amazing group of warfighter supporters. 

I look forward to meeting as many people as 

I can and to seeing you at the Worldwide Energy 

Conference scheduled for May 2019. New this 

year, we will have a venue I like to call “speed 

dating,” which is a means of networking in a 

structured environment right at the beginning 

of the conference. I’m also excited to bring the 

regional and incoming commanders to the event 

so both can engage and collaborate. 

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March / April 2019 15

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Story by John R. Bell

“BEING EMBEDDED WITH THE CUSTOMER, KNOWING THAT 

THE WHOLE OF THE AGENCY IS BEHIND US MAKES OUR 

SUPPORT MUCH MORE CAPABLE.”

 — ERIC GREY 

Ateam of experts from the Defense 

Logistics Agency deployed last fall 

to South Texas, where they provided support to U.S. Northern Command 

in its mission to physically strengthen 

the United States’ southern border.

DLA’s Rapid Deployment Team 

Blue was there to help USNORTHCOM 

and U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection obtain construction 

materials along with fuel and oil for 

equipment and vehicles. They also 

helped the Army provide food rations 

and holiday meals to soldiers working 

to reinforce the barrier between the 

United States and Mexico.

DLA’s contribution began in 

October, when USNORTHCOM asked 

DLA to send a team to assess what the 

agency could provide. DLA quickly 

deployed RDT Blue, whose members 

have been providing logistical support 

from their base in San Antonio, led by 

Air Force Col. Eduardo Quero.

RDT Blue is one of three RDTs 

that DLA Logistics Operations keeps 

trained and ready to send anywhere 

in the world to provide logistical 

support to other federal departments 

HOLDING 

THE LINE

and agencies. RDTs deploy to support 

wildland firefighting, aid Americans 

affected by hurricanes and flooding, 

provide humanitarian assistance and 

perform other missions that require the 

specialized logistics expertise only DLA 

can provide. 

For this mission, RDT Blue included 

experts from several DLA major 

subordinate commands — seasoned 

pros in obtaining construction 

materials, fuel and food through 

contracting or interagency agreements. 

They were joined by a universal 

customer account specialist, an expert 

in acquiring and ensuring the proper 

delivery of multiple categories of 

supplies. Specialists in legal issues and 

disposal of excess materials have been 

supporting the effort remotely.

Just as crucial as the team members 

on the ground are their partners 

working from DLA’s MSCs around the 

country, Quero emphasized. “Our RDT 

... has access to the entire supply-chain 

enterprise to facilitate the logistics 

needs in the [border mission].”

The team’s deputy commander 

agreed. “Being embedded with the 

customer, knowing that the whole of the 

agency is behind us makes our support 

much more capable,” Eric Gray said. 

Working in sync with the team from 

the Agency Synchronization Operations 

Center, the DLA Distribution Logistics 

Operations Center and the Command 

and Control Centers from DLA Troop 

Support, as well as DLA Energy and 

DLA Disposition Services, has been key 

to the mission’s overall success, 

he added. 

In addition to supplying the 

usual materials and fuel, the RDT 

fulfilled a special request from 

the commander of the Army’s 4th 
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March / April 2019 17

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

Sustainment Brigade. After the team 

arrived, he asked DLA to provide a 

full Thanksgiving meal for the troops 

deployed on the border. 

“It’s an honor to be able to help 

provide the troops with a holiday meal 

while they’re away from home,” said 

Joe Cauvin, a DLA Troop Support 

Subsistence employee. “If they can’t 

be with their families, having a 

traditional Thanksgiving meal can 

give a sense of comfort and remind 

the troops that they are not forgotten 

while they’re away.”

Joining Quero, Gray and Cauvin for 

the RDT Blue deployment were Jamal 

Brooks and Rick Bulson of DLA Land 

and Maritime; Bryant “Jack” Jackson 

of DLA Distribution; Greg Stephens 

of DLA Troop Support; and Katherine 

Meadows of DLA Energy. Pete Gentry 

and Ron Williams from DLA Disposition 

Services supported remotely, along with 

Army Lt. Col. Patrick Vergona from the 

DLA Office of General Counsel.

“Logistically, it was pretty smooth,” 

Jackson said. “We were essentially a 

central hub that interfaced with DLOC 

plus ASOC and DLA Troop Support’s 

Command and Control Center. We were 

kind of the main pivot entity between 

those organizations and the guys on 

the ground, primarily the Army’s 3rd 

Expeditionary Sustainment Command 

and 4th Sustainment Brigade and Army 

engineers assigned to a vast array of 

geographically dispersed units.” 

The team worked long days, seven 

days a week. “The mission really didn’t 

stop,” he said.

As Army units completed their 

work reinforcing physical structures, 

Army Spc. Ethan Valetski

Marines with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, Special 

Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7, walk along the 

California-Mexico border at the Andrade Point of Entry in 

Winterhaven, California. U.S. Northern Command provided 

support to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection to secure the southwest 

border of the United States.
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

DLA’s role in the border mission 

shifted to helping soldiers and 

Marines prepare to dispose of excess 

barrier materials and scrap metal. 

DLA Disposition Services sent 

specialists from several locations to 

aid in that effort.

Gray reflected on the keys to 

DLA’s success in supporting CBP in 

this mission. 

“We were as an RDT able to deploy 

on short notice with an already-formed 

team,” he explained. “We knew each 

other and our business. We could 

get on ground quickly and figure 

out how to support our customer’s 

requirements. 

“Just as important was that we 

were co-located with leadership, as 

they were trying to take care of nearly 

6,000 troops across a nearly 2500-mile 

border,” Gray added. 

This meant the RDT had to work 

together to supply about 25 border 

crossings, he noted. Because U.S. 

Army North and the Marines were the 

ones interacting with CBP, the RDT 

personnel received their requirements 

from those service members. 

One challenge was to supply 

enough coiled barrier wire, known as 

concertina wire. 

“We basically cleared out DLA’s 

[continental U.S.]-based stocks,” 

Gray said. “But DLA Troop Support 

has done a really good job setting up 

surge contracts.” 

Delivering the wire also required all 

hands on deck. 

“DLA Distribution ensured that 

many of the truck drivers had two-driver 

teams so they could drive 24 hours a 

day to deliver more quickly,” Gray said. 

Concertina wire requires supporting 

pickets in heights of 8 feet, 6 feet and 

32 inches, which the team also made 

sure was provided, along with concrete 

jersey barriers and 20-foot shipping 

containers. And they provided some 

Army Pvt. William Crowder of the 887th Engineer Support 

Company applies concertina wire near Brownsville, Texas.

Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Untalan
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March / April 2019 19

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

military units with ramps for loading 

and unloading.

The result was a success in 

providing service members everything 

they needed to complete the mission. In 

fact, Col. Richard Pierce of U.S. Army 

North told the RDT that at no point 

did any combat engineers run out of 

fortification material, Gray recalled. 

That belief was shared by Marine 

Corps Brig. Gen. S.D. Sklenka, commanding general of the 1st Marine 

Logistics Group, who was temporarily 

assigned to the operation as deputy 

commanding general for sustainment. 

The general told Gray and Quero that 

nobody was yelling about logistics. 

“As a logistician, you know that 

when the customer is quiet, they’re 

pretty satisfied,” Gray said.

RDTs: DLA’s Ready Asset

The work illustrates the real capability of the RDTs, which many at DLA 

may forget exist. 

“We don’t get a lot of attention until 

something pops up,” Gray said. “And 

I think the RDTs are a great asset that 

facilitates DLA’s global posture, supports 

the warfighter and promotes our strong 

partnerships around the world.”

In his everyday life, Gray is a 

customer account manager for the 

Marine Corps at DLA Headquarters. 

“The thing I’ve really enjoyed most 

is the teamwork. Each of the RDT 

members has a tremendous amount of 

experience and can do more than their 

individual skillsets. Seeing the team in 

action is really a work of art,” he said.

His colleague Jackson worked 

on-site for one month for DLA 

Distribution. He grew accustomed to 

frequent deployments during his career 

as an Air Force logistician.

“I think our DLA RDT performed 

exceptionally well,” he added. “We 

got a lot of positive feedback from 

the leadership and from numerous 

people from the Army command and 

subordinate units we were dealing with.”

Working on a mission for an 

RDT, “you find out really quickly how 

connected the MSCs are,” Jackson 

said. “It was really kind of impressive 

to see how we all interconnected and 

interfaced with the Army units.”

To dispose of excess building 

materials, the RDT relied on working 

with DLA Disposition Services out of 

locations near Davis-Monthan Air Force 

Base in Tucson, Arizona, and near San 

Diego, where DLA Distribution also 

had a hub. DLA Distribution, Corpus 

Christi, Texas, provided key support as 

well, Jackson said. 

DLA Distribution also managed 

the trucking contracts and oversaw 

the scheduling and routing of 

numerous carriers. 

“They had a special project code 

assigned to this mission that prioritized 

it in importance,” Jackson said. 

Even with so many MSCs working 

together for different military branches 

supporting a different federal agency, 

the operation “was smooth as glass,” 

Jackson said. 

“As an RDT, we all get along well. 

And when it’s go-time, everybody on 

the team knows it. You didn’t hear 

anybody complaining,” he said. 

Rapid Deployment Team Blue helped provide construction 

material like those shown here at a staging facility in Donna, 

Texas, about six miles from the southern border. 

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. S.D. Slenka, commanding general 

of the 1st Marine Logistics Group, takes notes on the status 

of the border operation in Nogales, Arizona. DLA and Rapid 

Deployment Team Blue supported the effort by providing 

supplies to U.S. Northern Command.

Army Spc. Brandon Best Courtesy Photo
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THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

“THE MORE SOURCES WE HAVE 

FOR AN ITEM, THE BETTER 

BECAUSE COMPETITION 

SAVES TAXPAYERS’ MONEY 

AND CAN ALSO HELP IMPROVE 

READINESS BY DECREASING 

LEAD TIME AND REDUCING 

THE POSSIBILITY OF BACK 

ORDERS.”

 — STEPHEN KELLY

A room full of parts at Defense 

Logistics Agency Aviation gives 

prospective vendors a clear view 

of opportunities to do business with the 

Department of Defense while reducing 

production lead times and prices for 

warfighter supplies.

Almost 200 items are included in 

DLA Aviation’s Replenishment Parts 

Purchase or Borrow Program, a “parts 

library” that allows vendors to buy 

or borrow parts they hope to become 

approved sources for by replicating 

them with already existing technical 

data or reverse engineering.

“If you’ve got a downed aircraft and 

your lead time is two years on a part, 

getting a new vendor qualified to source 

the part might reduce that lead time to 

three months or so. Overall, the program 

improves support to our customers,” 

said Ed Lilly, lead engineer for DLA 

Aviation’s Sourcing and Reliability 

Programs Branch. 

Created in 1987, the program 

increases competition, particularly 

among small businesses, for sole-source 

items. Cost reductions have been 

dramatic for items like push-pull control 

cables for jet engines, Lilly said. The cost 

PARTS 

LIBRARY

of one cable went from $3,700 to about 

$1,000 after a new vendor became an 

approved source through the RPPOB 

Program. DLA has so far saved $3.4 

million on the item, and the lead time 

went from nine months to four.

Sixty-five items were approved for 

purchase through the parts library 

in 2016 and 43 in 2017, including 

wiring harnesses and electrical cable 

assemblies used to power HH-60 Pave 

Hawk helicopters. Parts currently 

available for purchase or borrow range 

from fuel assembly caps and hydraulic 

valves to aircraft seat cushions. They’re 

chosen based on prior purchase prices 

and should-cost analysis. 

“Sometimes our contract specialists 

will refer an item to us because the 

price has increased. Say, for whatever 

reason, it’s priced three times higher 

than it was three years ago and we 

can’t negotiate it down. That’s a good 

opportunity to get a new source,” Lilly 

said, adding that all items have an 

annual demand of $40,000 to make the 

RPPOB process attractive to vendors. 

Vendors can see the parts in 

person at DLA Aviation’s display room 

in Richmond, Virginia, or view the 

online RPPOB Parts Catalog. And if 

prospective suppliers believe any of 

the other 1 million items DLA Aviation 

manages are good candidates for the 

RPPOB Program, they can submit a 

request for consideration. 

Story by Beth Reece

Steven Kelly, a special projects officer for the Replenishment 

Parts Purchase or Borrow Program at DLA Aviation, holds 

an electrical cable assembly, one of almost 200 items 

prospective vendors can replicate using already existing 

technical data or reverse engineering in hopes of becoming 

an approved source. 

Jacqueline G. Roberts
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March / April 2019 21

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

The RPPOB process begins when a 

vendor submits a reverse-engineering 

request via DLA’s website. DLA 

follows up with information such as 

demand patterns to help vendors 

determine whether it’s in their 

best interest to make the item, said 

Stephen Kelly, a special projects 

officer for the RPPOB Program. 

“If so, we prepare a purchase or 

loan contract for the item and forward 

it to the supplier. Once they return the 

signed contract and pay for the item, 

it’s shipped to them,” Kelly said.

DoD owns technical data for about 

half of the items in DLA Aviation’s 

RPPOB Program, but the other half lack 

technical drawings and must be reverse 

engineered at vendors’ expense. In this 

case, vendors purchase parts rather 

than borrow them, knowing they will be 

broken down and sometimes destroyed.

“The parts end up being destroyed 

more than you’d think because that’s 

the only way vendors can find out 

what the composition of the material 

is. They do x-rays, hardness tests and a 

whole litany of things,” Kelly added.

Vendors can take anywhere from 

months to years to develop plans 

and processes for reproducing parts. 

When the work is completed, vendors 

prepare a Source Approval Request 

with reverse-engineered drawings, detailed manufacturing plans and other 

information that demonstrates they 

can successfully manufacture the item 

for the government. 

DLA then acts as a liaison with 

military engineering support activities, 

which are responsible for approving 

prospective suppliers’ packages. 

ESAs review the vendors’ designs and 

conduct tests to ensure items are safe 

and built to specification. 

“If we already have a design that 

works, engineers can be hesitant to 

approve a new source because of the 

risks associated with it,” Lilly said, 

adding that vendors also bear the costs 

of testing and qualification. 

Vendors given a green light by 

ESAs are eligible to compete on future 

solicitations for the item. 

“The more sources we have for an 

item, the better because competition 

saves taxpayers’ money and can also 

help improve readiness by decreasing 

lead time and reducing the possibility of 

back orders,” Kelly said. 

DLA uses the RPPOB Program to 

inspire collaboration with vendors 

at events such as industry days and 

research and development outreach 

events. Suppliers interested in 

participating in the RPPOB Program 

can start by viewing the DLA Aviation 

RPPOB website at go.usa.gov/xEkFS. 

Over 40 items were approved for purchase through DLA 

Aviation’s Replenishment Parts Purchase or Borrow 

Program in 2017, including the cable assemblies shown 

here. The program increases competition and often results 

in lower prices.

Maintainers check over an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter as members of the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing 

prepare to deploy in support of rescue efforts following Hurricane Michael in October. Wire harnesses and electrical cable 

assemblies used on the system are two examples of items DLA has achieved lower prices for through the Replenishment 

Parts Purchase or Borrow Program. 

Air National Guard Capt. Michael O’Hagan Courtesy Photos
page

22 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Story by Dianne Ryder

“WE’VE GOT TO HAVE THAT STUFF IN HOURS. SUCCESS 

IS MEASURED IN MINUTES, NOT DAYS, WHEN YOU’VE GOT 

MAJOR HURRICANES HEADING TO THE CONTINENTAL U.S. 

OR ONE OF OUR TERRITORIES.”

 — STEPHEN DUBERNAS

D uring the past several years, 

the Defense Logistics Agency’s 

Whole of Government Division 

has become other federal agencies’ 

provider of choice for supporting 

nationwide crisis response.

The Stafford Act, designed to 

bring orderly federal assistance 

to state and local governments 

following natural disasters, governs 

the WOG team’s support. 

The Office of the Secretary of 

Defense grants DLA authority to 

support the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency’s disasterresponse mission. The support is 

executed through an interagency 

agreement. DLA may also receive 

execution orders through U.S. 

Northern Command to provide 

additional disaster-response 

resources in support of a combined 

joint task force.

WHOLLY 

PREPARED

WOG Division Chief Stephen 

Dubernas described taking over 

his position almost two years ago 

as “drinking from a fire hose.” His 

predecessor, David Kless, warned 

Dubernas to expect hurricanes in 2018.

“And wouldn’t you know, we had 

three major hurricanes,” Dubernas 

said. “You learn pretty fast from a 

significant emotional event like that.”

Eyes on the Hurricanes

Dubernas noted the division’s 

biggest efforts in 2018 were similar to 

those of the previous year; hurricanes 

were a huge focus area. 

In 2017, three back-to-back 

Category 4 hurricanes — Harvey, 

Irma and Maria — tested the mettle 

of the WOG team like nothing since 

Hurricane Matthew in 2012. 
page

March / April 2019 23

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

“We’ve really become a learning 

organization when responding to 

hurricanes,” Dubernas said. “After the 

2017 season, obviously, we’ve come up 

with a playbook of lessons learned.”

The frequency and duration of 

hurricanes in the last two years has 

been historically unprecedented, 

Dubernas said. Three additional backto-back hurricanes hit in the fall of 2018. 

One of the wettest storms on record, 

Hurricane Florence developed in 

mid-September, making landfall over 

the Carolinas Sept. 14. DLA Troop 

Support sprang into action, providing 

generators; meals, ready-to-eat; 

flotation devices; gloves and waders. 

Hurricane Michael then hit the 

Florida panhandle Oct. 10 as a deadly 

Category 4 storm. It was one of the 

strongest to strike Florida in a century 

and the third-strongest storm to hit 

the U.S., with winds up to 155 mph 

in Florida and Georgia. Again, DLA 

partnered with FEMA to provide vital 

supplies and assistance. 

The following month, Super 

Typhoon Yutu, the strongest storm 

on record ever to hit a U.S. territory, 

devastated the Northern Mariana 

Islands in Guam. 

“It was one of our first large-scale 

responses out in the Pacific ... and that 

was actually a Category 5 [with winds] 

over 180 mph,” Dubernas said. 

WOG Division Deputy Chief Chris 

Stephens said the urgency of these realworld events forced the division to put 

some of its plans into action. 

“What [Dubernas] was able to lead 

us through were support enhancements 

from the drawing board to actual execution,” he said. “There were opportunities to refine our pre-scripted mission 

assignments, to make sure our customers knew there were some refined 

packages and different material as well 

as services we could provide them.”

Expertise on Hand

After the 2017 and 2018 storms, 

pre-scripted mission assignments were 

added to response plans to leverage 

products and services from DLA 

Disposition Services, DLA Energy and 

DLA Troop Support. 

“We put a pre-scripted mission assignment together that allows us to draw 

resources from across DLA ... down to the 

National Response Coordination Center 

in FEMA headquarters downtown in 

Washington, D.C.,” Dubernas said. 

Some MSCs also placed personnel 

at the NRCC to reduce response time. 

Having supply-chain representatives 

at the ready ensures more accurate 

communication about requirements, 

Dubernas said.

“It’s a pretty specific skill, but a lot of 

it is what these folks do on a daily basis 

with their customer accounts,” he said. 

“You’re defining a requirement, underFuel trucks and trailers are staged at the request of FEMA 

at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, which served as an incident support 

base during Hurricane Florence. Items were provided by DLA 

and overseen by DLA Energy and DLA Distribution personnel.

— Photo by Navy Captain Mark Garrigus

DLA Rapid Deployment Team White, led by Navy Capt. Mark 

Garrigus (front left), poses for a picture at Maxwell Air Force 

Base, Alabama, while deployed in support of Hurricane 

Florence. Team members are: Army CW3 Eugene Garcia, 

Ron Williams, Rupel Perkins, Bruce Lane, RDT White Deputy 

Commander Bob Bednarcik, Rob Hays, Angel Roman, Alicia 

Ramsdell, Paul (Trey) Lanier, Dan Lentz and Mike Mallozzi. 

Not pictured: Marco Walker.

Navy Capt. Mark Garrigus
page

24 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

standing DLA supply-chain capabilities 

and making sure that those requirements ... get through the [Agency 

Synchronization Operations Center] 

out to those supply centers with a valid 

required delivery date.”

That can be more complex than it 

seems, Stephens noted. 

“When we respond, we’re serving 

a handful of masters,” he said. “We’ve 

got an agreement with [the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers] to do certain 

things, we’ve got an agreement with 

FEMA to do certain things, and 

then we’re working closely with 

USNORTHCOM, who’s leading the 

joint task force.”

Dubernas said it’s critical that 

DLA representatives remain on top of 

customers’ ever-changing needs and be 

aware of the availability of supplies. 

“By the time you see something 

spinning up off the coast of Africa 

with potential landfall in the U.S., you 

get those 48 ‘golden hours’ to get the 

right expertise,” he said. DLA works 

around the clock to anticipate needs 

and then “get them in the hands of 

the right people at each one of those 

supply chains in a fashion that can 

be translated to the industrial base, 

where you’re getting that material 

moving in the right direction.”

And DLA must act quickly, 

Dubernas continued. 

“We’ve got to have that stuff 

in hours,” he said. “Success is 

measured in minutes, not days, 

when you’ve got major hurricanes 

heading to the continental U.S. or 

one of our territories.”

Trial by Fire

The WOG division also supports 

the government’s response to other 

disasters, such as the wildfires that 

plague northern California. Last year 

was one of the deadliest fire seasons 

ever, with more than 18,000 structures 

burned and at least 88 people dead. 

“Between the California wildfires 

and just all the range fires out west, we 

did about $34 billion in total support,” 

Dubernas said. “But ... we see less 

volume and requirements come from 

California just because of the size and 

magnitude of the state-level response.” 

DLA provided personal protective 

equipment, safety gear, and fire 

protectant pants and chaps to the U.S. 

Forest Service. 

“We’re talking about 43 lines of 

critical items that the Forest Service 

uses and then over 300 normal 

[National Stock Number] usage 

items,” he said. 

The WOG team also practices its 

response in at least two exercises per 

year with FEMA and USACE. 

“We’ve been so engaged in 

contingency operations that FEMA’s 

actually canceled a few exercises,” 

Dubernas said. “When it comes down 

to it, it’s just a decision on utility — 

supporting contingencies is always 

going to trump an exercise.”

Hurricane Florence relief supplies are pre-staged at 

the DLA-managed Incident Support Base, Fort A.P. 

Hill, Virginia.

Deputy commander of Task Force Atlantic, Robert 

Bednarcik, and Operations Officer Robert Hays work 

command and control functions while forward deployed 

to Gunter Annex of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, 

Alabama, during Hurricane Florence.

Navy Capt. Mark Garrigus
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March / April 2019 25

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

Lingering Support

The WOG team is still completing 

operations in the aftermath of the most 

recent storms in Guam and Puerto 

Rico. In January, DLA provided some 

of the final barrier and construction 

material to repair the infrastructure 

in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, 

Dubernas said.

“In Puerto Rico, we were called 

on to do support we had never done 

— the rebuild of a major electrical 

grid,” he said, noting that there are 34 

million pieces of electrical equipment 

engineered for that particular grid. 

In the future, DLA will be able to 

use the same menu of services and 

material to support reconstruction 

of electrical grids in other locations. 

Such an effort would still require 

coordination though.

“We’ll send a [liaison officer] 

to USACE to develop generator 

requirements, and then we’ve got a part 

of the rapid deployment teams that 

will link up with the joint task force,” 

Stephens said. “Then we’ve got a cadre 

of folks from DLA Troop Support to 

include Dr. Dubernas’ staff downtown 

sitting at the FEMA response center.

“At the end of the day, we’re 

basically leveraging relationships. The 

SME that we brought in from DLA 

Troop Support knows all the players 

back [there] and can make stuff 

happen much faster,” he continued, 

adding that some of DLA’s “best and 

brightest” employees are assigned to 

the WOG Division.

Reform Efforts

The WOG support DLA provides is 

being viewed as a best practice at the 

highest levels of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the 

Secretary of Defense, Dubernas said.

“We’re using our economies of 

scale, which are large food contracts 

and large generator contracts, to get 

bulk buying discounts for our WOG 

partners,” he said. 

Dubernas said in terms of reform, 

DLA is reducing the burden on these 

other agencies and providing services 

at a wholesale discount. 

“We’re doing that with big partners 

such as the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and we’re providing support 

through our electronic catalog,” 

Dubernas said. “We’re looking for 

partners to fit into our portfolio 

without a lot of tailored logistics 

supply solutions.”

Smart Growth

Dubernas said he expects DLA’s 

reputation as a partner for WOG 

support means more agencies will seek 

DLA’s help in the near future. 

“I think you’ll see wholesale growth 

across the WOG portfolio,” Dubernas 

said. “DLA [is] being looked at as an 

interagency supply-chain provider in 

a lot of cases. The [DLA] director talks 

about support to the warfighter and 

the nation; I think the ‘and the nation’ 

part is going to grow.”

Expanded support may include 

additional products and services 

for the Army Corps of Engineers, in 

contingency and daily operations.

 “After the Hurricane Maria 

response, total requirements and the 

total sales to [USACE] went up from 

$30 million to about $450 million,” 

Dubernas said.

Additional support to the Forest 

Service is also likely, as well as a 

partnership with the Coast Guard 

on uniforms, in which DLA Troop 

Support would provide distribution 

services similar to those it already 

provides to the military services. DLA 

is also likely to continue supporting 

southern border operations as it has 

already done with concertina wire, 

fencing and barrier material.

In all, the WOG budget has doubled 

since 2014, Stephens added.

“You can’t be everything to all people, 

which is unfortunate, but it’s a resources 

constraint,” he said. “Really, the name of 

the game is smart expansion.” 

Air Force Maj. Charles Morton Navy Capt. Mark Garrigus

Rapid Deployment Team White members Maria Rodriquez (L) 

and Larry Lewis perform fuel truck accountability with DLA 

Energy and Foster Fuels representatives during reception 

operations at Simmons Army Airfield, North Carolina. DLA 

Energy personnel staged 58 refueling vehicles, carrying 

125,000 gallons of ground fuel product in preparation for 

Hurricane Florence search and rescue efforts. 
page

26 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

T

he end of 2016 marked the beginning of a new era of warfighter 

support for the Defense Logistics 

Agency in the form of athletic footwear.

Military service members used to 

purchase athletic footwear with cash 

allowances or their own money, but the 

2017 National Defense Authorization 

Act mandated that the Department of 

Defense provide American-made footwear to new recruits at no cost.

DLA Troop Support’s Clothing 

and Textiles supply chain has been a 

front runner in the race from policy 

to product, working closely with 

military counterparts and American 

footwear manufacturers over the past 

two years. The new shoes are now 

being issued to recruits. 

“Recruits’ [athletic footwear] now 

have more variety in lengths and widths 

than any commercial athletic shoe in 

the world,” C&T Director Air Force Col. 

Melvin Maxwell said.

From assessing customer requirements and contract awards to fielding 

the first pairs of athletic footwear to Air 

Force recruits in January at Joint Base 

San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, DLA’s 

marathon of support is still underway.

Every mile of supply chain support 

marks more collaboration by C&T and 

its stakeholders as they prepare to 

provide athletic shoes to about 250,000 

Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force 

and Coast Guard recruits every year.

Story by Mikia Muhammad

DLA Troop Support

MARATHON

OF SUPPORT

An Air Force recruit at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, 

Texas, tries on athletic shoes provided by DLA during initial 

uniform issuance in January. Almost 2,800 Airmen were 

issued athletic footwear along with other uniform items 

including utility uniforms, boots and undergarments.

Courtesy Photo
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March / April 2019 27

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

From Legislation to 

Contract Award

The 2017 NDAA states that athletic 

footwear must be compliant with the 

Berry Amendment, a federal law that 

requires the DoD to purchase certain 

items, including food and clothing, 

from American manufacturers.

Since 1941, the Berry Amendment 

has been critical to maintaining the 

armed forces’ safety and security, in 

addition to supporting the U.S. textile 

and clothing industry base, according 

to the website of the International 

Trade Administration, part of the U.S. 

Department of Commerce.

Through its many supply chains, 

DLA procures items based on the requirements of its military customers and 

works with them to meet their needs.

With this new requirement for athletic footwear, C&T contracting, technical and customer-relations experts 

worked with military program managers and engineering-support offices to 

ensure each service’s requirements were 

met during contract solicitation.

This included conducting market 

research and holding a pre-proposal 

meeting with prospective shoe manufacturers and military counterparts in 

August 2017, said C&T Organizational 

Clothing Division Chief Kevin Peoples.

“The DLA Troop Support athletic 

footwear team did an outstanding job 

structuring an acquisition strategy that 

provides flexibility,” as demand among 

the shoe choices is expected to change 

based on recruits’ experience wearing 

the different types of shoes, Peoples said. 

The unique combination of shoe 

type, gender and size is classified as a 

National Stock Number for cataloging 

and ordering purposes.

There are three types of athletic 

footwear based on foot type: neutral 

for users with high arches, stability for 

those with moderate arches and motion 

control for recruits with low arches.

There are 100 men’s sizes available 

in four widths, from sizes four to 16, 

and 40 women’s sizes available in two 

widths, from sizes 4 to 13. Given the 

possible combinations of sizes and 

types, the contract covers over 400 

NSNs. The average unit price for all the 

shoes is about $92.

“The DLA Troop Support athletic 

footwear team has played an integral 

role in the development and execution 

of the DoD timeline,” Peoples said. 

“The team worked closely with the 

services in reviewing and approving 

their technical-data packages for 

athletic footwear in the various types: 

cushion, stability and motion control, 

all in both male and female sizing.”

The team’s expertise and 

collaboration allowed them to 

successfully accomplish one of the 

most critical milestones in the athletic 

footwear program: meeting its 

scheduled contract-awards deadline. 

Opportunities and Challenges 

In addition to being the first time 

DLA is providing athletic footwear, there 

was a tight timeline between solicitation 

and target award dates to meet NDAA 

guidelines, C&T Contracting Officer 

Jessica De La Hoz explained.

From July 2017 to March 2018, 

DLA Troop Support solicited and 

awarded three contracts for athletic 

footwear among three American 

footwear manufacturers for a total 

value of about $78 million. 

“Companies that submitted a 

proposal ... were required to obtain 

certification from the services’ 

respective engineering-support 

activity offices,” De La Hoz said. “DLA 

communicated with the ESAs on 

evaluation results and timelines.”

Using the military’s certification 

process allowed industry to submit 

prototype samples earlier in the 

acquisition process and before the 

solicitation closing, Peoples explained. 

“Price and technical merit were essentially equal because we did require 

industry to obtain service approval 

or certification of their proposed 

samples in order for them to be considered for an award,” Peoples said. 

“This enabled us to focus our energy 

on evaluating respondents’ past performance information, socioeconomic 

plans and price.” 

In December 2017, the team 

awarded the first contract for athletic 

footwear to San Antonio Shoes in San 

Antonio, for an estimated value of $34 

Courtesy Photo

Footwear choices available to recruits includes shoes 

from New Balance, made in Massachusetts, Propper 

International, based in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico 

and San Antonio Shoes, better known as SAS. All three 

brands come in three foot shapes and a wide range of 

sizes for male and female recruits.

Courtesy Phots

Vernalynne Carter, chief of clothing initial issue for the 

Air Force, and 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron 

Commander Air Force Lt. Col. Ernest Cage issue new 

American-made athletic footwear to recruits Daniel 

Sterling (bottom right) and Ryan Padro (top right) at Joint 

Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, in January. 
page

28 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

million with a base term maximum 

of 206,000 pairs and an option term 

maximum of 192,000 pairs. 

In February 2018, the team 

awarded a contract estimated at $27 

million to Propper International in 

Puerto Rico, with a base term maximum of 180,250 pairs and an option 

term maximum of 168,000 pairs. 

The final contract was awarded 

in March 2018 to New Balance 

Athletics in Boston, for an estimated 

value of $17 million with a base 

term maximum of 128,750 pairs 

and an option term maximum of 

120,000 pairs. 

Each contract includes respective 

18-month base terms and 18-month 

option terms, with first deliveries to 

be made 210 days after the contract 

is awarded. The average production 

lead time for C&T footwear procurements is about 120 days; however, 

suppliers had additional lead time to 

meet this unique first-time requirement, De La Hoz explained.

“And once an award is made, 

DLA also ensures vendors meet 

Berry Amendment requirements 

by working with Defense Contract 

Management Agency quality assurance 

representatives to inspect submitted 

items,” she said.

All three contracts are positioned 

to support any combination of orders 

for male and female recruits in any 

version of the three types of athletic 

footwear, Peoples said. The contracts 

are also set up to support delivery 

to all three of C&T’s commercial 

warehouses and directly to the nine 

recruit training centers. 

“The team was able to cultivate 

and promote healthy competition 

and achieved an estimated $10 

million in negotiated savings with 

an increasing level of competition 

being noted on each successive 

contract award,” Peoples said. 

From Manufacturer to Recruits 

Now that the manufacturing process 

is well underway, fielding has begun 

and about 2,800 newly enlisted male 

and female airmen received Americanmade footwear in the recruit training 

issue line January 2019.

DLA Troop Support Commander 

Army Brig. Gen. Mark Simerly commended industry’s remarkable response 

to helping DLA and the military services 

meet its federal mandate to provide 

American-made athletic footwear. 

“The athletic footwear program is 

a positive development for the U.S. 

clothing industry, offering additional 

manufacturing opportunities,” Simerly 

said. “From the time the requirement 

was generated, to production of the 

shoes, to delivering to our troops, this 

has been an outstanding example of 

industry’s responsiveness and support.” 

At JBSA-Lackland, DLA already 

has athletic footwear stocked and will 

continue to replenish supplies as the 

rollout continues, said Tom Holtz, chief 

of the C&T Recruit Clothing Division. 

“We feel confident that the rollout 

will be a great success,” Holtz said. “We 

have collaborated closely with the initial 

fielding sites and have ensured that the 

adequate levels have been positioned in 

anticipation of the rollout.

“In addition, our vendor base is 

primed and continuous production is 

coming off the line, which will enable 

us to support sustainment at the initial 

fielding sites and integrate the Navy 

and Army sites during the coming fiscal 

year,” Holtz said.

Based on the current rollout 

schedule, Navy recruits at Naval Station 

Great Lakes, Illinois, will receive 

athletic footwear in April. In October, 

Army recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, 

Missouri; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort 

Jackson, South Carolina; and Fort 

Sill, Oklahoma, will receive athletic 

footwear, in addition to recruits at the 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, 

California, and Marine Corps Recruit 

Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.

Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air 

Force recruit training centers receive 

stock through DLA’s push system, in 

which C&T supplies the RTCs, and they 

remain DLA property until products 

are physically issued to the recruit and 

the point of sale takes place, Holtz said.

Like most of C&T’s customer 

base, the Coast Guard uses the “pull 

system,” in which the customer takes 

immediate ownership of materiel once 

the order is fulfilled.

“The Coast Guard ordered its 

required shoes for the initial rollout 

in November,” Holtz said. “They will 

continue to order in this fashion moving 

forward and plan to order on a monthly 

basis to replenish inventory levels.”

The Coast Guard phased in issuing 

DLA-procured athletic footwear earlier 

this year in Cape May, New Jersey, as 

it depleted its own stock of Americanmade athletic footwear from a 

previous contract, said Chris Mouldon, 

manager of the Coast Guard Uniform 

Distribution Center.

As DLA’s athletic footwear program’s 

marathon of support picks up speed, 

C&T is on the right track to accomplish 

its mission of 100 percent recruit fulfillment to help DLA maintain readiness as 

it supports the warfighter. 

DLA Troop Support’s Clothing and Textiles supply chain led 

the procurement of athletic footwear in response to the 

2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which required 

the Department of Defense to provide American-made 

footwear to recruits.

Courtesy Photo
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29

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

March / April 2019

DLA NewsWire

DLA IS ‘TOP GUN’

FOR PRINTING

Moviegoers may catch a glimpse 

of the Defense Logistics Agency’s 

print work when they see the sequel 

to the 1986 “Top Gun” film in theaters 

this summer.

Employees from DLA’s print facility at 

Naval Air Station North Island, California, 

produced posters for a squadron that 

offered its offices and hangar as a filming 

location for the movie. 

Wanting to fill empty wall space 

and make the area look movie-ready, 

the squadron commander called on 

DLA for a quick-turnaround order 

before filming started. Within a few 

hours, DLA employees printed, 

mounted and laminated posters that 

display the squadron’s mission, vision, 

priorities and focus areas. 

“They always come to us for their 

orders because they know we will 

get it right and right away,” said Vince 

Farina, supervisor of DLA’s NASNI 

print facility. 

— Amber McSherry

DLA Information Operations 

More Online: go.usa.gov/xEbH2

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN LOGISTICS AT DLA DISTRIBUTION HQ

As a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Karen 

Hudson is very familiar with Defense Logistics Agency 

Distribution’s mission. Near the end of her 30-year career, 

she was assigned to the organization’s Expeditionary 

Logistics Directorate and deployed for several months to 

Djibouti, Africa. 

Hudson is now a teacher at Central York High School, 

where she teaches U.S. government and politics. As part 

of the curriculum, she took her students in December 

to DLA Distribution Headquarters in New Cumberland, 

Pennsylvania, to give them a firsthand look at the 

concepts they’d learned in the classroom.

The students saw the integral role the organization 

plays in the military’s supply chain with help from DLA 

Distribution Chief of Staff Perry Knight. He also shared his 

own career background and emphasized the importance 

of future planning. 

“You are the future of the nation,” he said. “You may 

not know where you’re going in the future, but now is the 

right time to start thinking about it.” 

— DLA Distribution Public Affairs 

More Online: go.usa.gov/xEbHa

U.S. Navy Brianne M. Bender
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30 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

HURRICANE RECOVERY CONTINUES AT TYNDALL AFB

In early January, Defense 

Logistics Agency Disposition Services 

contractors removed an estimated 

2 million pounds of scrap metal from 

hurricane-ravaged Tyndall Air Force 

Base, Florida, with 13 million pounds 

to go. 

“It was a bomb zone ... I’ve never 

seen such devastation in my life,” said 

Dave Morgan, area manager for DLA 

Disposition Services at Eglin Air Force 

Base. The installation lies about 90 

miles northwest of Tyndall between 

Panama City and Mexico Beach, where 

Hurricane Michael made landfall as a 

Category 3 storm Oct. 10.

Morgan had already seen plenty of 

storm damage as a native Floridian by 

the time he arrived with DLA’s Rapid 

Deployment Team four days after the 

storm, but the devastation at Tyndall 

was “much, much worse,” he said.

Work space at Tyndall is limited 

and military offices are constantly 

shifting location, adding an extra 

layer of difficulty to communication 

and coordination, said Mark Miskin, 

an Eglin-based disposal support 

representative.

Infrastructure damage is a lingering 

problem for Tyndall. The post office 

is gone. DLA Document Services ... 

gone. Even the staging area that 

the installation had given the Eglin 

disposition crew for conducting on-site 

property inspections: gone. 

Of the nearly 750 buildings or 

structures on site, installation officials 

estimate that more than 450 will 

eventually be demolished. To help 

facilitate and provide storage, DLA 

Distribution shipped six 40-foot 

containers, 21 20-foot containers, 85 

ISU-90 containers and a mobile office.

DLA Disposition Services may also 

assist Eglin personnel in overseeing 

the demilitarization of two stormdamaged QF-16 drones and three F-15 

and F-16 static displays. The planes are 

too wide and tall to simply be moved 

from one side of the base to the other, 

said Morgan, who expects slicing off 

wing tips and making other necessary 

accommodations while moving the 

planes to be “quite a process.”

— Jake Joy 

DLA Disposition Services

More Online: go.usa.gov/xE5Zs

DLA DISTRIBUTION SAN DIEGO SUPPORTS 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH

DLA Distribution San Diego’s 

satellite site at Port Hueneme, 

California, recently completed 

its annual packing, packaging, 

preservation and marking mission 

in support of the National Science 

Foundation’s “Operation Deep Freeze.”

Operation Deep Freeze is part 

of the Department of Defense’s 

commitment to deliver supplies to 

scientists conducting critical research 

on and around the continent of 

Antarctica, as well as other locations 

south of the equator, to include 

Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, Palmer 

Station and the South Pole, and 

Christchurch, New Zealand.

The site’s PPP&M Section, 

led by packing supervisor Michael 

Snead, supports the NSF’s mission 

throughout the year by preparing 

research materials and military 

equipment for shipment. It also builds 

customized pallets and crates and 

fabricates fiberboard boxes that 

must meet stringent guidelines for 

processing and shipment by vessel 

and military or commercial air to 

Antarctica and the South Pole.

The Port Hueneme team 

packaged more than 400 containers in support of NSF in 2018, 

Snead said. 

“These containers, along 

with wooden braces and footers, 

are manufactured to stabilize 

material to prevent damage 

during transport,” he added. “The 

containers consist mostly of 

building and packaging supplies, 

frozen and dry food, clothing 

and specialized material used 

by scientists to conduct their 

research while on assignment at 

various NSF locations.”

— William Kelker

DLA Distribution San Diego

More Online: go.usa.gov/xE5Zu

DLA Distribution San Diego
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March / April 2019 31

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

Story by Dianne Ryder

S

trengthening the bond between 

government and industry, 

35 Defense Logistics Agency 

employees participated in the second 

iteration of the two-week Insights into 

Industry Management Course at the 

University of Virginia’s Darden School 

of Business in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

The course trains students in 

current and cutting-edge business 

practices, helps them recognize 

business risks and opportunities, and 

trains them to anticipate potential 

changes in private businesses.

The October 2018 session was 

added after DLA Acquisition officials 

received positive feedback from 

students who attended the inaugural 

course in May. 

“We can be pretty good at our 

craft, but we need to understand 

industry’s perspective to really enhance 

what we do,” said DLA Acquisition 

Director Matthew Beebe. “It’s through 

INDUSTRY 

INSIGHTS

understanding industry that we can 

better position ourselves to leverage 

what we need [them] to do for us.”

DLA office directors and 

commanders of major subordinate 

commands nominate civilians at GS-13, 

-14 or -15 levels who are in current 

acquisition-coded positions and have 

the required certifications. Participants 

ideally have a strong business, finance 

or accounting background, as the 

curriculum and projects depend heavily 

on these skills.

Industry Empathy

Getting views on how industry’s 

business processes might differ from 

those of the government was helpful to 

Pamela Tull, an integrative supply team 

chief with DLA Troop Support.

“When a vendor submits a quote, 

we’re making an assumption that 

they’re [trying to] undercut another 

vendor, and it may not necessarily 

mean that,” she said. “It’s their strategy 

because they haven’t done business 

with the government and [the quote] is 

a means to get in.” 

Charmaine Camper, director of 

expeditionary contracting in DLA’s 

Joint Contingency Acquisition Support 

The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, helps students recognize risks, opportunities and potential changes in private industry.

Andrew Shurtleff

Photo Courtesy Darden School

DLA Troop Support Integrative Supply Team Chief Supervisor 

Pamela Tull receives her certificate for completing the 

Insights into Industry Course from DLA Acquisition Director 

Matthew Beebe.
page

32 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Office, said it’s important that the 

agency’s acquisition team understand 

how contractors are crafting proposals.

“When we start seeing proposals 

from the companies we’re dealing with, 

we’ll have insight into their financial 

stability, which then gives us insight into 

whether they can perform [the work 

required] in the contract,” she said. 

Group Exercises

Students role-played as vendors 

in practical exercises to discover the 

myriad factors that go into pricing 

structures.

“The course gave us that insight 

into what industry is thinking about 

or what elements they’re considering 

when they’re estimating their 

proposals,” Camper said. “It’s not easy; 

that was a reality check.”

Other exercises involved 

students negotiating as a group with 

conflicting objectives. 

“Each of us had our own agenda 

in terms of what we were trying to 

achieve,” Camper said. 

Students were also required to 

discuss reading assignments and case 

studies in groups whose members 

often changed. 

“We had to collaborate on and come 

up with a definitive type of solution or 

a strategy on how we resolved it,” Tull 

said. “You could see how it was useful 

to have a diversified group of people 

because they had perspectives that 

made you look at things differently as 

opposed to just the way you see it in 

your own supply chain.”

The best part of the case studies was 

the group work, Camper said, because 

participants learned from each other’s 

unique backgrounds.

“Based on their experience and their 

own knowledge and training that they’ve 

had, we’re all able to bring our expertise 

into the conversation,” she said.

Lessons Learned

A key takeaway for Kenneth Abrams, 

planning and industrial readiness division chief with DLA Land and Maritime, 

was the “decision tree,” a model of decisions and their possible consequences. 

“In the decision tree, you consider 

the options [and] potential outcomes,” 

he said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find 

an absolute perfect decision. You’re 

going to find a solution that’s best 

among several others.” 

Exploring various outcomes leads to 

deeper analysis and pursuing the most 

desirable option, he continued. 

Faculty and guest speakers greatly 

impressed the students. Camper enjoyed 

speaker Jared Harris, who co-wrote 

“The Strategist’s Toolkit,” a book all 

students received. 

“He was a lot of fun. It wasn’t 

presentation-based; it was more 

examining the concepts in his book, in 

terms of forming a strategy,” she said. 

Concepts in the book dealt with 

acquisition analysis and risk analysis, 

both of which Camper said are 

particularly helpful for her job. 

Guest speaker and former Assistant 

Secretary of Defense for Logistics and 

Materiel Readiness David Berteau 

inspired Tull.

“He said we have an opportunity 

to create value, that we have an 

obligation to distribute and share,” 

she said. “It’s about community, 

looking at relationships and building 

them. We have so much capability, 

and that value we create is not just 

ours to keep for ourselves. We have to 

pay it forward.”

Highly Rated The course material was presented 

in a way that made government 

employees think outside the box, added 

Robbie Mitchell, a supply systems 

analyst in DLA Logistics Operations.

 “I thought it was one of the better 

courses I’ve attended with DLA,” 

he said. “All of the instructors and 

presenters were very knowledgeable. 

You could tell they were subject matter 

experts in their particular field.”

Mitchell has been with DLA for 20 

years and said the course provided him 

invaluable information.

“Most courses we attend in DLA are 

geared toward understanding DLA better, but this course was the opposite. It 

Photo Courtesy Darden School

Charmaine Camper, director of expeditionary contracting in 

DLA Joint Contingency Acquisition Support Office, receives 

her certificate for completing the Insights into Industry 

Course from DLA Acquisition Director Matthew Beebe. 

Robbie Mitchell, a supply systems analyst in DLA Logistics 

Operations, receives his certificate for completing the 

Insights into Industry Course from DLA Acquisition Director 

Matthew Beebe.

Photo Courtesy Darden School
page

March / April 2019 33

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

was helping [us] understand our industry partners better,” he said. “The way 

the financial analysis and accounting 

was used in this course was a lot different from any other [instruction].”

Camper said it should be a regular 

part of required contracting training 

because it helps students understand 

the mechanics of financial reports and 

create cost estimates from an industry 

perspective. Having also attended the 

Eisenhower School in Washington, 

D.C., Camper expected this course to 

be similar, but Insights into Industry 

exceeded her expectations.

“It wasn’t an easy class to take 

because it was a heavy requirement: 

a lot of reading, a lot of case studies 

— and there were three books to read 

ahead of time,” she said. 

Tull confirmed the training schedule 

was rigorous. Whether she was 

interacting with groups discussing case 

studies or preparing for projects, it was 

a constant grind, she said. 

“It was no cake walk,” she added. 

“You really were engaged 100 percent 

of the time.”

Although Abrams has recommended the course to colleagues, he cautions 

that DLA will only send someone it 

believes can give the agency a return 

on investment. 

As Beebe put it, “This needs to be a 

quality program. The first thing I did 

when I attended the closing of the UVA 

program was congratulate all of them 

for being selected,” he said. 

Regarding potential candidates, he 

noted, “This isn’t just who wants to go; 

this is somebody who’s viewed to be 

appropriate from whatever their role is, 

but also ... that they are of the mindset of 

the talent that we want to cultivate.”

Future Opportunities

DLA Acquisition is building on the 

success of its programs with UVA and 

the University of North Carolina to 

create two other pilot programs.

One program, sponsored by DoD’s 

Human Capital Initiatives, will be a 

one-for-one talent exchange between the 

Department of Defense and industry. 

“Then there’s our own internal 

rotation program, where we’re sending 

folks out to industry,” Beebe said. “Each 

of those is six months.” 

Beebe expects to send six individuals 

from DLA’s acquisition workforce to 

industry for the internal program. 

“[The military] services have 

been sending people out to industry 

for years; we should be doing that 

too,” he said. “It takes a little time to 

set up because you have to have an 

arrangement with these companies, 

and we’re working off the arrangements 

that the services already have rather 

than crafting our own.” 

Betty Hoapili, chief of acquisition 

workforce development, said her 

industry initiatives program manager, 

Bethanie Healey, has been working hard 

on industry-focused programs. 

“It’s Beth’s initiative and dogged 

determination that moved these 

programs forward,” Hoapili said. “We 

asked the MSCs and [headquarters 

organizations] who they’d like us to 

contact ... Beth originally went out to 

23 companies.” 

The response is overwhelmingly 

positive, she said. 

One DLA Troop Support employee 

recently began a 6-month assignment 

at Deloitte. “And about a dozen more 

companies want to get involved,” 

Hoapili said.

The other half of the equation is 

receiving people into DLA from industry.

“We deal with acquisition-sensitive 

information, so it’s a little more complicated,” Beebe said. “Fortunately, [Human Capital Initiatives] is piloting the 

first real exchange for the department.”

Although the programs 

are currently focused on the 

acquisition workforce, Beebe said 

participants need not be restricted 

to contracting professionals. 

“Our acquisition workforce is much 

bigger than contracting,” he said. 

“There can also be people who are 

not part of the acquisition workforce 

who do other things within DLA who 

could very much benefit from an 

exchange with industry in some way, 

an accounting professional or human 

resources professional [for example].” 

Finding more ways to engage 

with industry means a more in-depth 

dialogue, which Beebe hopes will result 

in a mutually beneficial arrangement. 

“That is what these multiple efforts 

are trying to achieve,” he said. 

Professor Jared Harris teaches a session during one of the 

Darden School’s custom programs. 

Photo Courtesy Darden School
page

cover4 WWW.DLA.MIL

LOGLINES

THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS — ON TIME, EVERY TIME

I AM DLA

My name is: 

Joshua Anderson

I am: 

A small-business specialist and AbilityOne program 

manager for the DLA Land and Maritime Office of Small 

Business Programs.

Describe your job in a sentence: 

My job is to maximize small business and AbilityOne 

acquisition participation by providing compliance reviews 

of subcontracting plans and contractor-performance 

assessments, as well as recommending small-business 

strategies for high-dollar, complex acquisitions such as 

source-selection procurements and long-term contracts. 

How long have you worked at DLA? 

I started working at DLA Land and Maritime as 

an intern in 2007. 

What is your favorite thing about working 

for DLA? 

The DLA professionals’ unity of purpose in our mission 

to support the warfighter.  

What are your best memories of working here? 

Seeing the successful completion of team initiatives like source-selection 

procurements, AbilityOne Day and webinars. There is a lot at stake in each of 

these initiatives, and we are only successful by working together. 

How do you make a difference? 

I am blessed to have an opportunity to make a difference for our warfighters 

every day. 

Joshua Anderson