REACHING OUT

TRAINING DLA CUSTOMERS

LOGLINES

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY MAY – JUNE 2014
from the from the

DIRECTOR

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

about the “logistics” that DLA is always 

talking about, but they know that they 

want DLA to deliver it.

So how do we get to this level of 

outstanding customer service? We 

need to engage our customers, fully 

understanding their needs and working to 

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This edition of Loglines is dedicated to 

our customers. Through engagements 

with them, we will strengthen our 

understanding of their needs and 

requirements and keep them informed 

about the incredible capabilities we have.

You all do so many things – and 

do them well – that it can be a little 

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time they need us. We reach out to them 

in a variety of ways: online, face-to-face 

meetings, site visits and more. Each 

time we reach out to our customers, we 

should delight them with some of that 

“logistics” that is our forte ... delivering 

world-class support.

Everyone in DLA has a role 

in delighting our customers, 

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representative connecting a Marine in 

Afghanistan with the right supply chain 

or a senior leader speaking to students 

Customer service is the key to our 

success. Customers are the reason 

we exist, and our job is to delight the 

customer every day. So what’s the secret 

to good customer service? How do 

organizations take themselves from being 

good to great? 

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logistics support, we need to understand 

our customers and their needs like 

nobody else. You’ve heard me say that 

nobody knows this stuff like us, so start 

acting like it. 

That means anticipating, engaging 

and delivering support without waiting for 

someone to give us a requirement – that’s 

delighting the customer. During World 

War II, Chief of Naval Operations Fleet 

Adm. E.J. King said, “I don’t know what 

the hell this ‘logistics’ is that [Army Chief 

of Staff Gen. George] Marshall is always 

talking about, but I want some of it.” 

That’s how I want our customers to feel 

about DLA. ... They don’t need to worry 

at the Industrial College of the Armed 

Forces. The logisticians who work with 

us need the right stuff at the right place 

at the right time, and we owe it to them 

that DLA delivers.

DLA meets with senior leaders from 

the military services and federal agencies 

to discuss customers’ priorities and how 

DLA can help. In my travels, I hear about 

the great stuff we do and how pleased our 

customers are with DLA support. That 

happens due to the fantastic job you do 

every day. 

So this issue of Loglines is focused 

on our customers. They are the most 

important folks in our world, and they 

deserve everything we’ve got. 

So keep doing what you’re doing, and 

give ‘em all you’ve got. Thanks. 

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

DLA Director

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek

DLA Vice Director

Ted Case 

Chief of Staff

Renee L. Roman

Director, Public Affairs

Joseph M. Yoswa

Deputy Director, Public Affairs

Jack Hooper

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 

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Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

LOGLINES

Official Flagship Publication of the Defense Logistics Agency

Managing Editor: Kathleen T. Rhem

Editor: Jacob Boyer

Layout/Design: Paul Henry Crank

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Writers: Beth Reece

 Sara Moore

 Amanda Neumann

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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:

LOGLINES STAFF
CONTENTS

Loglines O May - June 2014 1

A Conversation with ... 20

LogPoints 27

I am DLA Back Cover

DEPARTMENTS

May - June 2014

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

www.facebook.com/

dla.mil

www.twitter.com/

dlamil www.dla.mil

www.youtube.com/

dodlogisticsagency

DLA on the Web

On-Site Expertise 2

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representatives work side by side with the agency’s 

customers, teaching them what they need to know to 

get what they’re looking for.

Class is in Session 6

The DLA Training Center sends representatives to 

school houses and operational units to teach tools, 

systems and techniques to help logisticians learn 

about the agency.

Tools of the Trade 12

DLA produces a variety of digital and print resources 

that give customers the information they need 

wherever they are. 

Lessons from the Top 14

DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, , 

and other agency senior leaders speak at classes and 

events to give military logisticians a look at where 

the agency is going.

Student Visits 16

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elsewhere get a chance to visit DLA sites for a peek 

behind the curtain of the agency’s operations. 

Classroom Training 22

DLA puts instructors in the military services’ 

classrooms to ensure customers know the agency’s 

role throughout their careers. 

International Partnerships 28

DLA Logistics Operations’ Foreign Visit Program 

enables the agency to build strategic relationships 

with foreign nations through face-to-face interaction.

TRAINING DLA CUSTOMERS

REACHING OUT
2 www.dla.mil

On-Site

EXPERTISE

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Story by Beth Reece

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Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Francisco 

Cervantes, a CH-47F Chinook helicopter 

pilot with the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat 

Aviation Brigade, inspects a helicopter at 

Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan. 

DLA warfighter support representatives train 

units on how to use the agency’s ordering 

systems to get critical repair parts for 

systems such as aircraft before they deploy. 

— Photo by Army Spc. Cody Barber
Loglines O May - June 2014 3

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“So I pulled about a dozen 

or so [lieutenants] into a 

classroom one day and 

basically gave them a 

crash Supply 101 course.” 

— Trevor Boyd

Army Staff Sgt. Ramon Perveyra, with 

Company A, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 

173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 

guides a forklift driver moving a pallet of 

supplies during a training exercise at the Joint 

Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, 

Germany. DLA employees often participate 

in training exercises to ensure warfighters 

are aware of the services and supplies DLA 

can provide. 

Army Spc. Tristan Bolden
4 www.dla.mil

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Marine Corps Sgt. Joseph Massengale (left) 

and Lance Cpl. Camille Smith, both airframe 

mechanics with Marine Light Attack Helicopter 

Squadron 167, replace rivets on a AH-1W 

Super Cobra helicopter at Camp Bastion, 

Afghanistan. A DLA support team made up 

of experts from various DLA supply chains 

is deployed alongside warfighters to provide 

emergency support.
Loglines O May - June 2014 5

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Courtesy Photo

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Hays

John Latour (left), DLA customer support 

representative for Marine Forces Reserve, 

shows a Marine how to find information such 

as the availability and location of supplies in 

DoD’s Log Port.

An MH-60 Sea Hawk delivers supplies to the 

flight deck of the USS Bataan. DLA warfighter 

support representatives can help service 

members tap into the agency’s support no 

matter which branch of the service they are in.
6 www.dla.mil

obert Finney tells all his 

students that he can make 

them heroes. As instructor and 

course manager for the Defense 

Logistics Agency’s Customer 

Assistance Logistics Course since 2008, 

Finney knows exactly what information 

his customers, DLA’s external customers, 

are looking for from DLA.

“For most, they want to know just a 

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where my stuff is?’ and, ‘If I don’t have my 

Class is

IN SESSION

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retail and wholesale supply chain items, 

Finney said.

“We have what’s called the ‘5 percent 

solution,’” he said. “Because no matter 

what you manage, 5 percent of it is 

going to give you problems, and you’ll 

have to spend time on it. So what can 

stuff, when am I going to see my stuff?’ 

‘How do I sift through all this background 

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them all that in this class. Quite frankly, 

I can make you the hero because you’ll 

know what’s going on.”

As one of the most popular courses 

offered by DLA Human Resources 

Services’ DLA Training section, CALC 

teaches DLA’s customers how to use both 

DLA and Defense Department Web tools 

Photo courtesy Pat Calhoun

Pat Calhoun, an instructor from DLA Training 

in Columbus, Ohio, teaches military students 

about Web-based tools during a Customer 

Assistance Logistics Course.

Story by Amanda Neumann

o

s

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A

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Loglines O May - June 2014 7

they do? Where can they locate it? Is it 

coming? If not, who do they call? And 

how do they get help from DLA? This 

class is tailored to meet those needs, 

whether it’s an executive overview at a 

PDMRUKHDGTXDUWHUVRUDQLQGHSWKORRN

DWVSHFL¿F'/$WRROVVXFKDVWKH:HE

Virtual Logistics Information Processing 

System or DoD Electronic Mall. We try 

to help them solve their problems before 

they happen.”

The DLA Customer Assistance 

Logistics Course was established 

in 2003 and combined two 

earlier courses – Logistics 

Exchange and Customer 

Assistance Logistics – into 

one course managed by DLA 

Logistics Operations, explained 

Sue Carter, program manager in 

DLA Logistics Operations. DLA 

Logistics Operations, known 

as J3, oversees program management 

for the course, with DLA Training 

delivering the classes.

“Customer requirements are solicited 

and vetted through J3 service teams and 

forwarded to DLA Training for scheduling 

and execution,” Carter said. “Through 

teamwork, J3 and DLA Training have 

developed a close working relationship to 

best support our customers.”

CALC is taught at two venues: 

military service schools and operational 

military units preparing for deployment, 

Finney said.

“We’re in the military service school 

houses to augment the training they’re 

already receiving from the services,” he 

said. “For example, if you’re at the Army 

school house, you’re going to teach a 

person how to use Army systems, and 

that only makes sense. Our systems are 

there, but you may or may not touch on 

them. So when we teach at the school 

house, whether it’s for junior and senior 

enlisted supply personnel or maintenance 

DQGVXSSO\ZDUUDQWRI¿FHUVZHFRPHLQ

spend the day, and say, ‘OK now let me 

show you this.’ And then we show them 

how to look up documents in WebVLIPS 

RUKRZWRXVH(0$//WR¿JXUHRXWWKH

status of national stock numbers.”

By engaging with military service 

school houses and military logisticians 

early in their careers, DLA Training’s 

intent is to open customers’ eyes to the 

kind of tools and information DLA can 

provide, like those that allow users to 

retrieve information from the Federal 

Logistics Information System, said 

Mike Beasley, DLA Training’s supply 

branch chief. 

“If you’re in FEDLOG or if you’re 

on your own [military] system, 

they may only update once a week or 

month,” he said. “[In WebVLIPS,] DLA’s 

information updates every 15 minutes. 

Every new sales order that comes in, the 

customer can have visibility on it almost 

immediately. We tell the students, you 

can use any system you want. But why do 

Navy Lt. Marquita Fortner

Operational Customer Assistance Logistics Course, 

DLA Disposition Services Contingency Operations 

and Materiel Management Contingency Training: 

http://www.hr.dla.mil/downloads/trn/courses/CEW.pdf

All Logistics Courses: 

http://www.hr.dla.mil/downloads/trn/courses/logistics.pdf

t A i t L i ti

SOURCE CATALOGS

DLA Disposition’s property disposal specialist 

instructor Kathleen Schulz, previously part of a 

Navy expeditionary disposal remediation team 

in Afghanistan, and a teammate pose with items 

to be demilitarized from Forward Operating 

Base Sharana in Paktika province, Afghanistan.
8 www.dla.mil

you want to use WebVLIPS? Because [the 

information is] the most current.”

Operational CALC, mainly taught 

LQHLJKWRUKRXUVHVVLRQVWDUJHWV

active duty, National Guard and reserve 

tactical units, as well as service industrial 

activities, said Patrick Calhoun, a DLA 

CALC instructor with DLA Training. 

“Our focus initially is with the school 

house,” he said. “Then once they leave the 

school house, that’s when we reach them 

operationally, right before they get ready 

to go out on an exercise or deployment. 

We travel to their location, use their live 

issues and illustrate how DLA supports 

their requirements by using Web tools 

GHVLJQHGIRUVHOIKHOS:HFRYHUDOOWDVNV

ranging from obtaining status and stock 

positioning to 

tracking shipments 

or researching 

technical data, 

no matter the 

commodity. Most 

of us are retired 

military, so we can 

really talk back 

and forth about the 

issues the services 

face.”

In the 

operational 

course, students 

gain a complete 

understanding 

of the logistics 

relationships 

between their 

military components 

and DLA and receive 

an overview of 

the functions of DLA’s supply centers, 

DLA Disposition Services and DLA 

Distribution, Calhoun said.

“There’s no perfect tool out there or 

a perfect system,” he said. “We’re giving 

them more than one venue to arrive at a 

solution. In austere times, there are less 

and less things the customer can put on 

the shelf, so with CALC, we actually show 

them the systems and Web tools they can 

XVHWREHFRPHPRUHVHOIVXI¿FLHQW ́

For DLA CALC instructor Dale 

%URZQUHDOOLIH

situations and 

problems often 

pop up during 

class discussions 

and provide him 

with the best 

teaching examples. 

One student at 

Fort Lee, Va., had 

an issue ordering 

parts for a John 

Deere Gator, 

a lightweight, 

commercial 

vehicle.

“An Army 

ordnance 

ZDUUDQWRI¿FHU

said his unit 

used John 

Deere Gators for 

transport around 

WKHLUDLU¿HOGV ́KHVDLG3+HQHHGHGD

new engine for one of his Gators, but 

only had the commercial part number. 

He had submitted several requisitions 

using the commercial part number, but 

they had been stymied. He provided 

the part number to me during a class 

break, and I used it as a class example 

and showed how the Web Federal 

Logistics Information System could be 

used to translate that commercial part 

number into a national stock number. 

Once we had the NSN, we found it was 

D'/$PDQDJHGLWHPDQGZHKDGVWRFN

on hand.”

Although CALC has primarily been 

focused on the military services, the 

DLA CALC Program Team is working to 

further the training to promote DLA’s 

other essential missions during times of 

crisis or humanitarian relief efforts.

“As the war draws down and comes 

to an end, there are still other entities 

out there that require the services of DLA 

every day, especially in disaster services 

management,” Beasley said. “We work 

ZLWK>DJHQFLHVOLNH@)(0$WR¿QGRXWμ,I

there are hundreds of blankets and tents 

that we would need in a disaster, how can 

ZHXVHWKHWRROVWR¿QGRXWZKHUHWKH\DUH

and how we would access them?’ We can 

offer that through the venue of CALC, and 

ZHFDQWDLORULWWRDIRXUKRXURYHUYLHZRI

DLA’s capability at the agencies’ request.”

With more than 120 classes conducted 

D\HDU&$/&¶VIRXUKRXUFODVVIRUPDWLV

FXUUHQWO\EHLQJGHYHORSHGDVLQVWUXFWRU

led video teleconference training and may 

e 

ts

ve

LA’ l t WK L L ¿ OG  ́ K L

 Additional 

 Resources 

DLA Human Resources Services, 

DLA Training’s Materiel Management 

Contingency Training website: 

http://www.hr.dla.mil/training/coursedeliv/

courses/MMCTdownloads.asp

Materiel Management Contingency 

Training video: 

http://dlavideoprograms.hq.dla.mil/videos/

MMCT.wmv

Customer Assistance Logistics Course’s 

YouTube video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 

Vsm3hlAJ2Ho&feature=youtube

DLA’s Customer Self-Help Tools website: 

http://www.dla.mil/pages/customers.aspx

DLA H R

DLA Disposition Services property disposal 

specialist instructor Kathleen Schulz, previously 

part of a Navy expeditionary disposal remediation 

team in Afghanistan, poses with teammates at 

Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.

Navy Lt. Marquita Fortner
Loglines O May - June 2014 9

be offered in this format to customers as 

HDUO\DV¿VFDO

MATERIEL MANAGEMENT 

CONTINGENCY TRAINING

Another class that Calhoun delivers 

quarterly is Materiel Management 

Contingency Training for DLA’s Joint 

Logistics Operations Center. A mandatory 

class for DLA support team members 

prior to deploying into active combat 

WKHDWHUVWKHWZRZHHNFRXUVHLVDQ

intensive version of the CALC training, 

Calhoun said.

“If they’re deploying into a combat 

theater in a war zone like Afghanistan, 

that’s where MMCT comes in,” he 

said. “We train our internal folks who 

are going into those same theaters of 

operations how to support the customer 

and interact with them. It’s a multifaceted 

approach in order to provide better 

assistance to the customer.”

Held at the Joint Forces Training 

Base in Los Alamitos, Calif., the class also 

WUDLQVHPHUJHQF\HVVHQWLDOHPSOR\HHV

Civilian Expeditionary Workforce 

YROXQWHHUVDQGDFWLYHGXW\DQG

UHVHUYHFRPSRQHQWVHUYLFHPHPEHUVRQ

expediting commodities in the logistics 

pipeline, Calhoun said. Although the 

bulk of instruction deals with how DLA 

provides repair parts, the course also 

covers all supply items managed and 

delivered by DLA, including clothing, 

medical supplies, subsistence and fuel. 

Helping the agency’s customers be 

PRUHVHOIVXI¿FLHQWIDOOVLQOLQHZLWK

DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark 

Harnitchek’s “Big Idea” to improve 

customer service, he said.

CALC by the Numbers

FY12

FY13

FY14*

134 Total Classes 

 (101 school house, 33 operational)

2,178 Total Students 

 (1,755 school house, 423 operational)

123 Total Classes 

 (74 school house, 49 operational)

2,409 Total Students 

 (1,579 school house, 830 operational)

49 Total Classes 

 (21 school house, 28 operational)

965 Total Students 

 (410 school house, 555 operational)

*Stats through the second quarter

Students listen to a lecture in the two-week 

contingency operations course provided by 

DLA Disposition Services.

Don Zimmerman
10 www.dla.mil

“All of this basically allows our 

FXVWRPHUVWREHPRUHHI¿FLHQW ́KHVDLG

“By them now knowing what they can do 

themselves, it’s going to reduce calls to 

the [DLA Customer Interaction Center], 

it’s going to minimize the need for 

emergency buys, and it’s going to save the 

agency more money. That’s the net result 

when we have this combined overarching 

strategy to support the customer at all 

three levels.”

CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS

Another critical life cycle course, 

Contingency Operations, is delivered 

by DLA Training instructors Susan 

Guerrero and Kathleen Schulz at the 

DLA Disposition Services Training and 

Operations Simulation Center in Battle 

Creek, Mich. 

The course provides a basic overview 

of DLA Disposition Services’ disposal and 

demilitarization operations as they apply 

in theater, Guerrero said. Taught prior to a 

deployment, the course is designed for DLA 

Disposition Services personnel and the 

expeditionary disposal remediation teams 

that accompany units in combat zones.

37KH¿UVWZHHNHQFRPSDVVHVOHDUQLQJ

what DLA Disposition Services is all 

about, what they do, and how they provide 

their services as far as receiving property, 

issuing property and the removal of 

scrap being generated from the war,” she 

said. “In addition, we have several guest 

speakers that come in and share their 

Contingency Operations Course

FY12

FY13

FY14*

4 Classes 91 Attendees

5 Classes 130 Attendees

3 Classes 76 Attendees

*Stats through the second quarter

Dale Brown, a Customer Assistance Logistics 

Course instructor with DLA Training, poses 

with students from the Aviation Maintenance 

Class at Fort Eustis, Va.

Pat Calhoun
Loglines O May - June 2014 11

experiences of what they’ve encountered 

and done over there.”

Guerrero, a property disposal 

specialist, teaches everything from 

cataloging and commodity acquisition 

to stockpile management and disposal 

actions since most of her students haven’t 

been trained for a particular mission.

“Most of the EDRTs that come from 

their units are coming from the civilian 

workforce, and many haven’t worked 

for DLA Disposition Services, so they 

don’t know the nuts and bolts of disposal 

operations,” she said. “Often, they have no 

concept of what kind of 

an environment they’re 

walking into or what 

their mission is going 

to be, so this gives 

WKHPDKHDGVXS ́

The second week 

of the course focuses 

almost entirely on the 

Defense Department’s 

demilitarization and mutilation 

policies, Guerrero said. Held in the 

726&¶VVTXDUHIRRWZDUHKRXVH

the class uses more than 300 items 

selected for their unique characteristics 

as training aids. 

“The demilitarization course is a 

KRXUFODVVZKHUHVWXGHQWVJHWWKHLU

KDQGVRQH[SHULHQFH ́VKHVDLG37KLVLV

immensely important for them, because 

they learn it in the classroom and then 

go out and actually apply the processes 

we taught them. [The TOSC] is a 

simulated warehouse, so they actually 

go out, touch and feel the property to see 

how it’s put onto the accountable record 

and issued off the accountable record. 

And DLA Disposition Services actually 

KDVDKDQGVRQOHVVRQLQWRUFKFXWWLQJ

for the types of things they’re going to 

be doing overseas, like cutting up Mine 

Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.”

For fellow instructor Schulz, her 

Contingency Operations duties actually 

carry over into her second job as a Navy 

reservist, where she serves as training 

RI¿FHUIRUKHUPLOLWDU\XQLW

“Not only am I an instructor, 

EXW,¶PDOVRDFKLHISHWW\RI¿FHULQD

[disposal remediation team] unit out 

of Columbus, Ohio,” she said. “I’ve had 

four military deployments [in Iraq and 

Afghanistan], so I see the importance of 

JHWWLQJKDQGVRQWUDLQLQJEHIRUHJRLQJ

into theater. An EDRT’s role in theater 

has greatly increased, and we have much 

more of a role in the disposal process 

than we did in the beginning when I 

went to Iraq. So when I have a new 

>UHVHUYLVW@WKLVFODVVLVWKH¿UVWWKLQJ,

want to get them into.”

With DLA Disposition Services 

increasing its presence in Afghanistan as 

military forces draw down, the request for 

additional Contingency 

Operations training 

sessions has also 

increased, Schulz said.

“Where other 

units are downsizing, 

we actually increase 

when we’re closing an 

area of operations,” 

she said. “While I 

was deployed, I saw the growth, the 

demand, in having more of these 

classes, because our numbers went up 

quite a bit. Our primary audience is the 

military members. Because there is such 

a demand for this course, we’ve put a 

priority on people who are deploying 

right now, mainly military members 

from DRTs. They are already on the 

schedule to leave within the year.” 

e

DLA Training’s

Contact Information

DLA Human Resources Services, DLA Training: 1-800-458-7903

http://www.hr.dla.mil/dtc/

For inquiries on the Customer Assistance Logistics Course:

DLACALC@dla.mil

D

Dale Brown

Pat Calhoun, an instructor with DLA Training, 

conducts outreach about Web-based tools 

during a Customer Assistance Logistics 

Course.
12 www.dla.mil

ith organizations and personnel 

in 48 states and 28 countries, 

the Defense Logistics Agency’s 

supply chains can be a 

challenge to navigate. Keeping 

a tradition of excellent customer support, 

DLA provides several digital and printed 

tools that help train its customers. 

These tools are vital to maximizing 

customer interaction, said Sue Carter, 

a program manager in DLA Logistics 

Operations who specializes in joint 

customer support projects.

“They’re resources that encourage 

customers to help themselves,” Carter said. 

“Our hope and goal with these products is to 

give customers some information in order to 

assist them in doing business with DLA.”

Digital resources like the Web-based 

portal that helps DLA Logistics Operations 

FXVWRPHUDFFRXQWDFWLRQRI¿FHUVOLNH

Alexander Morton Sr. and John Sarnosky 

communicate with and train customers 

are essential.

“We serve as a touch point between 

the customers and DLA,” Sarnosky 

said “We have to be able to work with 

customers’ logistical issues at the strategic 

and tactical level.”

One of the most important digital 

training resources for DLA customers 

is a Web portal called Log Port, available at https://www.dtc.dla.mil/

logport/. The portal lists the names, 

links and descriptions of 18 different 

webpages for use by DLA staff 

members and their customers. 

“Not only do we use it for customer 

education, but when we deploy, we use 

Tools of 

the Trade

the past, they may have relied on several 

different supply centers to provide the 

vendors with shipping information. 

Today, they rely on a DLA program 

known as the Vendor Shipment Module. 

VSM is another Web-based system 

that taps into DLA’s Distribution Standard 

System for addressing and routing information. The module provides vendors with 

the necessary transportation documents 

and shipping labels. The pro-gram also 

reduces transportation costs by making 

use of government rates.

“Customers and vendors had to go to 

multiple places to get their transportation 

information, so creating one system 

PDGHLWDKXJHEHQH¿W ́6KHUUL7URXSHD

VXSHUYLVRU\WUDI¿FPDQDJHPHQWVSHFLDOLVW

with DLA Distribution, said. 

Previously, vendors arranged their 

own transportation for higher rates 

than what the government could supply; 

now the government can take control of 

freight at the vendor dock through the 

Vendor Shipment Model. Troup said the 

advantage of VSM for customers is giving 

them real-time addressing and the ability 

to provide in-transit visibility. 

With operations worldwide, DLA 

prides itself on providing customer 

DVVLVWDQFHGRZQWRWKHZDU¿JKWHUOHYHO

HYHQLIWKDWZDU¿JKWHUODFNVDFFHVVWR

the Internet. That’s where DLA uses 

traditional print publications. 

In terms of printed media, the DLA 

Customer Assistance Handbook is the 

primary source for training customers. 

Updated and published every two years, 

the handbook is an initiative to educate 

the Log Port Web portal for training,” 

Morton said. “We can access key 

information from it.”

Two of Log Port’s most useful 

links are to the DoD Electronic Mall, 

or EMALL, and its shipping program, 

the Web Visual Logistics Information 

Processing System, or WEBVLIPS. 

DoD EMALL is an Internet ordering 

platform that allows customers to choose 

from more than 65 million off-the-shelf, 

¿QLVKHGJRRGVDQGVHUYLFHVIURPWKH

commercial marketplace. Using the 

website, customers can look up their 

items, get full descriptions, track online 

orders and check inventories. 

 “It’s a one-stop shop for customers 

to engage DLA and acquire information,” 

Morton said.

Once an item is ordered, its progress 

is digitally tracked through WEBVLIPS, 

an online, access-controlled system 

that lets customers track requisitions 

throughout the supply system. 

 “I can use it to see if we have something on hand and tell our customers where 

it’s located,” Sarnosky said. “Then, I can 

use WEBVLIPS to show me exactly where a 

product is in the pipeline.” 

When customers ordered items in 

“Our hope and goal with these 

products is to give customers 

some information in order to assist 

them in doing business with DLA.”

— Sue Carter

Story by 

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas

it

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Loglines O May - June 2014 13

customers and help them help themselves. 

Carter said the manual improves with each 

update and is in its 19th edition. Aside from 

a list of frequently asked questions, the 

PDQXDOLQFOXGHVVSHFL¿FSRLQWVRIFRQWDFW

supply codes, explanations, descriptions 

of logistics programs, and other self-help 

resources. The handbook is also available 

online, and DLA encourages customers 

seeking the most current information 

to refer to the online version, which is 

updated between print publications. 

Daniel Nugent, a systems analyst 

for audit readiness in DLA Logistics 

Operations and a former customer 

service representative, said he still refers 

to the manual. He called it essential for 

customer education.

37KHELJJHVWEHQH¿WLVWKDWLWFDQEH

used as a teaching tool to explain supplyrelated questions to customers,” Nugent 

said. “It’s just a handy reference that 

anyone can use.”

Nugent said he can recall numerous 

occasions when customers would be in the 

process of ordering supplies but did not fully 

comprehend the stocking codes. By going 

through the handbook with them, he was 

able to help the customers understand how 

the DLA’s system of stocking codes works.

“People would call me asking, ‘What 

does this code mean?’” Nugent said. “By 

showing them in the manual, I was able to 

help them expedite future requests.”

Nugent said the manual was designed 

for customers and is ideal for the military. 

The small, compact size is handy for 

deployed customers because it is packed 

IXOORILQIRUPDWLRQDQGGHVLJQHGWR¿W

inside a service member’s cargo pocket, 

he said. 

Carter agreed that the manual is 

ideal for the military because it can be 

used anywhere.

“This was meant for supply clerks and 

warehouse personnel who don’t have a 

computer in front of them,” Carter said. 

“It’s one of the main reasons why we still 

print hard copies.”

DLA also produces a simpler pocketVL]HGÀLSERRNWLWOHG36HOI+HOS7RROV ́

Previously, CSRs needed to sift through 

vast amounts of information to guide 

customers in the right direction.

3,W¶VDFRQYHQLHQWOLWWOHÀLSERRNIXOORI

useful websites,” Nugent said. “From there, 

people can use the websites provided to get 

what they need.”

7KHÀLSERRNKHOSVVSHHGXSWKH

search process by organizing numerous 

links under frequently asked questions via 

color-coded tabs. 

Both publications also contain mobile 

tagging codes that can be scanned by an 

application on a mobile device. Scanning 

the codes allows customers to access the 

electronic version of the products as well 

as other customer information that can 

be found on the DLA customer website. 

The site, http://www.dla.mil/Pages/

Customers.aspx, is the entry point for 

customers when doing business with DLA.

“Now customers can scan the link to 

get them directly to a reference or website 

if they need it,” Carter said.

Morton said that arming customers 

with proper resources and training is a 

big part of answering DLA Director Navy 

Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek’s “Big Idea” to 

improve customer service.

“It’s up to DLA employees to know 

what sort of tools are out there to pass on to 

our customers,” Morton said. “You need to 

educate the customer on what’s available.” 

Carter echoed Morton’s statements, 

saying that better educated and independent 

customers leads to better support.

“We try to help our customers become 

PRUHVHOIVXI¿FLHQW ́&DUWHUVDLG3:HGR

everything that we can to support them.” 

DLA SELF-HELP TOOLS FOR CUSTOMERS

WHAT:

Biennial handbook serves as the 

complete guide to DLA.

INSIDE:

Self-help resources, points of 

contact, logistics programs, customer 

information and supply codes.

FEATURES:

A complete list of supply codes, 

considered to be the most valuable 

resource of the guide.

CUSTOMER

ASSISTANCE HANDBOOK

WHAT:

Web portal with links to 18 dla 

customer support websites.

INSIDE:

Information on EMALL, WEBVLIPS, 

DLA depots and a digital version 

of the Customer Assistance 

Handbook. 

FEATURES:

Simple list organizes website 

names, direct links and a brief 

description.

LOG PORT

LOGISTICS PORTAL

WHAT:

Real-time shipping information 

for DLA customers.

INSIDE:

Website provides vendors with 

the necessary shipping labels 

and transportation documents at 

government rates. 

FEATURES:

Real-time addressing allowing 

customers to see in-transit status.

VENDOR

SHIPMENT MODULE

WHAT:

A pocket-sized flipbook full of 

links to DLA websites.

INSIDE:

Links in the flipbook are 

arranged by a series of tabs. The 

tabs are organized by frequently 

asked questions. 

FEATURES:

Mobile codes inside let customers 

use their smartphones to access 

websites.

SELF-HELP

TOOLS FLIPBOOK
14 www.dla.mil

lthough he has responsibility for 

a worldwide logistics network of 

almost 27,000 people that does 

more than $40 billion of business 

a year, the director of the Defense 

Logistics Agency still makes time to speak 

to military students and logisticians 

at schools and conferences around 

the country, highlighting the agency’s 

commitment to customer engagement. 

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek and 

other DLA senior leaders travel to talk with 

these students and professionals about 

DLA’s support and educate customers 

about doing business with the agency. 

“We have a customer engagement 

strategy in place, and part of that 

strategy is to meet with our customers 

Lessons from 

the Top

DLA Troop Support Commander 

Army Brig. Gen. Steven Shapiro and 

his senior executives speak at schools 

or conferences about 10 to 15 times a 

year, Terry said. In addition, a team 

of DLA Troop Support customer 

outreach representatives led by Garth 

McBride, chief of functional customer 

engagement, travels to different sites 

to speak about DLA and interact with 

students and customers. 

“As important as it is for us to reach 

the senior leaders, it’s just as important 

for us to reach the midlevel managers, 

the guys that really do the ordering 

and have the most changeover of 

supply support,” McBride said. “We’re 

working to do a better job of being in the 

schoolhouses and increasing awareness 

at key customer locations.”

One of the military schools that 

DLA leaders interact with regularly 

is the Dwight D. Eisenhower School 

for National Security and Resource 

Strategy, which is part of the National 

Defense University at Fort McNair, 

in Washington, D.C. Kelly Morris, the 

DLA Chair at the Eisenhower School, 

advocates for DLA at the school and 

brings senior leaders to speak to the 

students, including senior military and 

civilian personnel from the U.S. and 

abroad and industry representatives.

“It’s important for them to have a 

broad background of everything that 

at the schoolhouses and at industry 

conferences,” said Army Maj. Gen. 

Kenneth Dowd, the former director of 

DLA Logistics Operations who retired 

in April. “It’s critical that we remain in 

touch with our customers, both at the 

senior strategic level and with those in 

the trenches who order the repair parts 

and ensure our troops have enough food 

to eat or fuel to operate aircraft or [Mine 

Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles].”

Harnitchek participates in a handful 

of speaking engagements at schools 

and conferences each year, as do other 

senior leaders from DLA Headquarters. 

Commanders and other principal leaders 

IURPWKHDJHQF\¶VSULPDU\OHYHO¿HOG

activities also travel to these types of 

engagements to provide specialized 

information about their commands and 

supply chains. 

3$EHQH¿WRIWKHVHHYHQWVLVKDYLQJ

someone representing the name of 

DLA out there speaking to current and 

potential customers,” said Navy Capt. 

William Terry, director of customer 

operations for DLA Troop Support. 

“A lot of our customers, regardless of 

their level, don’t realize that DLA has so 

many different supply chains and offers 

different services.” 

Story by Sara Moore

Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice 

Adm. Mark Harnitchek addresses attendees at 

the 66th Annual National Defense Transportation 

Agency Logistics and Transportation Forum and 

Exposition in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2012. 

Alberto Betancourt

l

a

a

m

a A

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Loglines O May - June 2014 15

encompasses the government,” Morris 

said of the Eisenhower School students, 

who come to the school as senior 

RI¿FHUVDQGFLYLOLDQVDQGRIWHQJRRQ

to command or senior executive roles. 

“Part of the school’s responsibility is not 

only teaching students how to develop 

strategy, but also how to resource 

it. And part of resourcing strategy is 

understanding where you get your stuff 

from, how you pay for your stuff, and 

how you contract for it.”

Harnitchek spoke at the Eisenhower 

School in November 2013, when he 

addressed more than 300 students about 

the importance of improving logistics 

performance while looking for ways to cut 

FRVWVLQDQXQFHUWDLQ¿VFDOHQYLURQPHQW

Morris said she takes full advantage 

of Harnitchek’s and other leader’s visits, 

enlisting them to have lunch with the 

students or participate in interviews for 

research projects. She also brings students 

to DLA Headquarters and DLA Energy 

sites to let them experience the agency’s 

ZRUN¿UVWKDQGDQGLQWHUDFWZLWKOHDGHUV

and employees. 

3&HUWDLQO\WKHEHQH¿WRIWKHVHHYHQWV

to DLA is well-educated customers in the 

HQG ́VKHVDLG36RWKHZDU¿JKWHUZKR

may have never heard of DLA because 

WKH\¶YHEHHQRXWLQWKH¿HOGDQGGRQ¶W

realize where their stuff comes from can 

now connect all that support to DLA.” 

In addition to the Eisenhower 

School, Harnitchek has traveled to the 

Army Logistics University at Fort Lee, 

Va.; the Defense Logistics Conference 

in Arlington, Va.; the National Defense 

Transportation Agency Logistics and 

Transportation Forum and Exposition in 

Anchorage, Alaska; and the Association 

of the United States Army’s Institute of 

Land Warfare Sustainment Symposium in 

Richmond, Va., among other places. DLA 

¿HOGDFWLYLW\FRPPDQGHUVKDYHYLVLWHG

customer sites in Europe and the U.S., 

military conferences and symposiums, 

and some of the same schools the agency’s 

senior leaders visit. 

Even as budgets have tightened and 

travel has been pared down, there is still 

value in engaging with customers face 

to face at these speaking engagements 

and conferences, said DLA Energy 

Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. 

Giovanni Tuck, who participates in 

such events a few times each year. Not 

only does it allow him to advocate for 

the quality work DLA does, he said, 

it also helps him build a network of 

professionals who can help when needs 

arise in the future. 

“If I can go do these things, [then] in 

a time of crisis, I can pick up the phone 

and make something happen with the 

relationship that I’ve garnered at one of 

these events that I might not otherwise 

have,” he said. 

In this way, Tuck said, speeches and 

conferences complement all the other 

areas of customer engagement for DLA, 

with the end result being a stronger 

collaborative relationship with informed, 

proactive customers. 

Alberto Betancourt

Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice 

Adm. Mark Harnitchek thanks Army Chief 

Warrant Officer 5 Joseph Jimenez and Air 

Force Master Sgt. Wilhelm Neshelaar during 

his visit to Fort Lee’s Aerial Delivery and 

Field Services Department at the U.S. Army 

Quartermaster School.
16 www.dla.mil

Story by Amanda Neumann

he Defense Logistics Agency 

is expanding its educational 

outreach to not only customers’ 

classrooms, but also to customers 

who visit from military service 

schools. Several times a year, students 

in service schools visit DLA installations 

around the country as part of their 

logistics curriculum. 

Offering up-close looks inside the 

agency allows DLA to develop lasting 

relationships with the services and the 

students, many of whom will eventually 

work in joint logistics commands, said 

6WDF\8PVWHDGSXEOLFDIIDLUVRI¿FHUIRU

DLA Distribution in New Cumberland, Pa.

32IWHQZHVHHWKHVH«RI¿FHUVFRPLQJ

through and becoming part of DLA,” she 

said. “So it not only educates them on who 

we are, but it also provides information 

for possible career opportunities they may 

have not been aware of.”

Student Visits

St b A d N

Now an aviation maintenance 

RI¿FHUDVVLJQHGWR'/$$YLDWLRQ¶V

Army Customer Operations Division 

in Richmond, Va., Fishe` oversees 

and coordinates visits from mid-level 

ZDUUDQWRI¿FHUVHQUROOHGLQWKHQLQH

week course. The visits occur quarterly 

and typically include 10-16 student 

PDLQWHQDQFHRI¿FHUV

“The students visit for a day and are 

given an overview of DLA Aviation and 

EULH¿QJVE\VXEMHFWPDWWHUH[SHUWVDVZHOO

as a guest speaker from DLA Disposition 

Services,” he said. “The students are 

then split into smaller groups and visit 

SHUVRQQHORQWKHÀRRUVXFKDVFRQWUDFWLQJ

,Q$UP\&KLHI:DUUDQW2I¿FHU

4 Chuck Fishe` was frustrated. As the 

division chief and senior logistics trainer 

RIWKH:DUUDQW2I¿FHU7UDLQLQJ'LYLVLRQ

at Fort Eustis, Va., part of his job was to 

instruct students on DLA. But he knew 

few details about the agency.

“Here I was teaching what DLA does 

but not really knowing it myself,” he said.

Looking for answers, Fishe` called 

up one of his previous commanders, who 

happened to work at DLA, and explained 

his predicament.

“He said, ‘If you can bring your 

students up here for half a day, I can 

introduce them to a [weapon system 

support manager], and all of you can get 

a better understanding of DLA,’” he said. 

“And so it began. Now, DLA routinely 

LQYLWHVWKHLQKRXVH:DUUDQW2I¿FHU

Advanced Course students from [Fort] 

Eustis for a one-day visit.”

Foreign military officers from the Navy 

Supply Corps School’s International Logistics 

Executive Advanced Development program 

tour DLA Distribution’s walk-and-pick area at 

the agency’s Susquehanna, Pa., distribution 

center, the largest distribution facility in the 

Department of Defense.

Jessica Roman

h

i

o

c

w T

h l
Loglines O May - June 2014 17

specialists, customer account specialists 

and engineering support specialists, for a 

desk-side interactive discussion on what 

various subject matter experts do.”

By visiting DLA, the students, who 

ZLOOHYHQWXDOO\¿OOGXW\SRVLWLRQVZLWKLQ

combat aviation brigades, learn about the 

complexity of the organization as well as 

is the scope of DLA’s support, Fishe` said.

“[Eventually], they will directly affect 

the manner in which Army aviation 

organizations manage their maintenance 

and logistics operations,” he said. “So 

part of it for them is understanding the 

difference between wholesale operations 

DQGUHWDLO:K\LVQ¶WZKROHVDOHDVÀH[LEOH

and responsive as retail? And in getting 

an understanding of what the goal is 

and then putting that together with the 

personnel that are components in it, 

then you’ll understand, if I get a bad DLA 

part, why? And what do I think happened 

versus what actually happened.”

Used as a method to both engage and 

educate DLA’s customer base, the site 

YLVLWVKDYHEHHQEHQH¿FLDOWRFXVWRPHUV

and employees alike, Fishe` said.

“Not only are we educating our 

customer base, but we’re getting feedback 

as to what some of our problems are,” he 

said. “They’re surprised that not all parts for 

aviation come from DLA Aviation. That’s 

almost counterintuitive. And usually their 

assumption is we just write a contract 

[for parts] and walk it through. They think, 

μ+RZKDUGLVWKDW"¶6RWKLVLVRQHRIWKHLU¿UVW

interactions to understand what actually 

goes into that. And we want them to pay 

attention and understand how their input 

makes the agency react, because DLA is 

demand responsive and they have a hand in 

that. So these visits really bring that home.”

Conducted three times a year, the Air 

Force’s Advanced Logistics Readiness 

2I¿FHU&RXUVHDW-RLQW%DVH0F*XLUH

'L[/DNHKXUVWLQ1HZ-HUVH\LVD

com-petitive class for top-performing 

RI¿FHUVVDLG$LU)RUFH0DM-RH

Servidio, ALROC course director.

“ALROC is really the premier logistics 

training in the Air Force for logistic 

RI¿FHUV ́KHVDLG3$OORIWKHVWXGHQWVDUH

hand selected by a board, so the overall 

intent for the graduates is they’re going 

to be the [Air Force’s] future logistics 

leaders. Being an ALROC grad makes an 

individual more competitive for selection 

for joint assignments.”

Composed of captains, the course 

JLYHVWKHVWXGHQWRI¿FHUVDFRPSUHKHQVLYH

overview in the application of 

expeditionary logistics, Servidio said.

“We focus strictly on supply chain 

management, transportation, fuels, and 

contingency and logistics planning,” he 

said. “All of that gets put together under 

DORJLVWLFVUHDGLQHVVRI¿FHUZKRDWWHQGV

this course. We teach them that when 

they get to the operational strategic level, 

it’s more than just how things operate 

at a base level. There’s outside agencies, 

combatant commands, all of the folks that 

you deal with both inside and outside your 

base. And one of those would be DLA.”

The students, who generally have 

¿YHWRQLQH\HDUVRIFRPPLVVLRQHG

service, receive briefs on the agency’s 

supply chains at DLA Troop Support in 

Philadelphia as part of the intensive eightweek course, Servidio said.

“When we arrive, we get an overview 

of DLA and its mission brief, and then we 

go to the different directorates,” he said. 

“We go through all the classes of supply 

that DLA Troop Support is responsible for, 

[like] clothing and textiles, construction 

and equipment, and subsistence. It’s a full 

supply chain view, from who is supplying 

LWDOOWKHZD\WKURXJKZKR\RXU¿QDO

customer is. It gives them a good overview 

of where these things come from and how 

it gets to us in the Air Force.”

“We want them to pay attention and understand how their input makes 

the agency react, because DLA is demand responsive and they have a 

hand in that [as well.] So these visits really bring that home.”

— Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chuck Fishe`

Air Force Advanced Logistics Readiness Officer 

Course participants receive a briefing on DLA 

Troop Support capabilities by a representative 

of the construction and equipment supply 

chain in Philadelphia.

Mikia Muhammad
18 www.dla.mil

During the one-day visit, the 16 

students receive several hands-on lessons 

on how DLA sustains and supports the Air 

Force, something that is useful for their 

future assignments in logistics planning, 

Servidio said.

“For us, one of the highlights of the 

course is being able to actually go out, 

visit one of the outside agencies, like 

DLA, and understand how it impacts 

the Air Force,” he said. “It’s more of a 

sustainment piece on how we get support 

from DLA and how important that is to a 

logistics operation in the Air Force. This 

is all stuff that our students understand, 

[but they need to know] how all those 

things are important when they’re 

planning or sustaining an operation. 

They know that they need those things, 

but as far as getting required items, and 

understanding the distribution process 

and who’s in charge of getting requests 

to us, those are things they walk out of a 

visit with a better understanding of.”

Even before visiting DLA, students 

in the ALROC sometimes get a chance to 

explore the agency even further because 

of required research papers, said Air 

Force Lt. Col. Scott Hopper, former 

deputy Air Force national account 

manager in DLA Logistics Operations.

“As part of the curriculum, ALROC 

students complete a research paper,” 

he said. “A student in each of the last 

two classes has done their research on 

DLA topics.”

Capt. Wes Ekwall, assigned to 

the 823rd RED HORSE Squadron at 

Florida’s Hurlburt Field, chose DLA as 

the subject for his ALROC assignment. 

“RED HORSE” stands for Rapid Engineer 

Deployable Heavy Operational Repair 

Squadron Engineers. Ekwall said talking 

with DLA personnel was essential in 

conducting research for his assignment 

and provided him with a perspective he 

wouldn’t otherwise have, he said.

37KHLQWHQWRI$LU)RUFHRI¿FHU

development is to prepare yourself to 

understand how things work at the 

retail level, so that when you get to 

the enterprise level, you have the right 

perspective when you’re making those 

decisions that go beyond the individual 

bases,” he said. “Working with DLA now 

gives me those perspectives on who’s 

out there putting a lot of time and effort 

into trying to make sure that the people 

on the ground are getting their stuff. It’s 

JLYHQPHDORWRIFRQ¿GHQFHWKDWWKHUH¶V

somebody out there really supporting 

the Department of Defense.”

&HUWDLQVWXGHQWVDWWKH0DULQH&RUSV

Command and Staff College in Quantico, 

Va., also visit DLA Headquarters as part 

of their course curriculum.

During the most recent visit of a 

group from this school, 16 students 

VSHQWDGD\DW)RUW%HOYRLULQ-DQXDU\WR

learn about the agency’s capabilities as 

a strategic logistics provider. Hosted by 

DLA Logistics Operations, the seminar 

ZDVSDUWRIWKHVWXGHQWV¶-RLQW/RJLVWLFV

elective and featured organizational 

RYHUYLHZVDERXW'/$¶VZDU¿JKWHUVXSSRUW

and customer engagements from a DLA 

panel of representatives. 

The students were welcomed by nowUHWLUHG$UP\0DM*HQ.HQQHWK'RZG

then director of DLA Logistics Operations.

“It’s great to see the joint teams here,” 

Dowd said. “Last week, we had an Army 

team here from Fort Lee, Va. The joint 

environment is the way of the future.”

During the morning sessions, 

VWXGHQWVUHFHLYHGDWRXURIWKH-RLQW

Logistics Operations Center and 

EULH¿QJVIURP'/$(QHUJ\DQGWKH-RLQW

&RQWLQJHQF\$FTXLVLWLRQ6XSSRUW2I¿FH

The afternoon sessions included briefs 

RQ'/$3DFL¿FDW&DPS6PLWK+DZDLL

DQGVHYHUDORI'/$¶V¿HOGDFWLYLWLHV

along with discussions on DLA support 

to contingency operations, humanitarian 

assistance and disaster relief operations 

LQWKH3DFL¿FWKHDWHU

“This was a long day, but we learned 

a lot of very valuable information about 

'/$¶VFDSDELOLWLHV ́0DULQH/W&RO7LP

%U\DQWZDU¿JKWLQJGHSDUWPHQWKHDGDW

the Command and Staff College, said. “I 

worked at [U.S. Central Command] and 

gained a huge appreciation for what DLA 

can do for you. DLA will be there for you 

when you need them.”

Jacqueline Girard

Instructors and students with the Combined 

Logistics Captains Career Course at the Army 

Logistics University in Fort Lee, Va., pose during 

a tour of Defense Logistics Agency Aviation’s 

Richmond, Va., headquarters.
Loglines O May - June 2014 19

Also in attendance was retired Army 

/W*HQ&ODXGH3&KULV ́&KULVWLDQVRQ

GLUHFWRURIWKH&HQWHUIRU-RLQWDQG

Strategic Logistics and the former director 

RIORJLVWLFVIRUWKH-RLQW6WDIIZKRHFKRHG

Bryant’s comments.

“DLA was my Amazon.com. They are 

a global supplier and will get you what you 

need with one phone call,” he said.

The students later used information 

from the seminar to build upon their 

capstone project, developing a logistics 

concept of support that was briefed to a 

panel of senior leaders. 

Visits aren’t limited to just the 

American military either. The Navy Supply 

Corps School in Newport, R.I., currently 

offers three courses for foreign military 

RI¿FHUVVDLG7LPRWK\.RUWHDFWLQJ

director of executive and international 

training at the school.

The school’s seven-week International 

Logistics Executive Advanced Development 

3URJUDPIRUVHQLRUIRUHLJQRI¿FHUVSURYLGHV

an understanding of the leadership and 

management challenges that are faced by 

U.S. logistics leaders, including those at 

'/$.RUWHVDLG

3$VSDUWRIRXU¿UVWZHHN¶VEULH¿QJ

I give them a separate block on DLA, 

including its operations, how DLA 

¿WVZLWKLQWKHVXSSO\FKDLQDQGKRZ

important DLA is to the overall supply 

chain,” he said. “Then they learn how they 

interact with that. This [course] doesn’t 

WHDFKWKHPKRZWR¿OORXWDUHTXLVLWLRQ

form; instead, it teaches them how to 

manage the people that work within their 

supply chains and order parts on their 

countries’ behalf.”

During the last three weeks of the 

course, the students, generally at the 

commander, captain and rear admiral 

ranks within their respective countries’ 

militaries, visit Navy commands in 

Norfolk, Va., Philadelphia and Boston, 

as well as DLA Headquarters at Fort 

Belvoir, Va., and DLA Distribution’s 

Eastern Distribution Center in New 

&XPEHUODQG3D.RUWHVDLG

“The site visits to DLA have been a 

fairly recent addition; this is only our 

fourth year visiting,” he said. “But the fact 

that we’re able to take the ILEAD class to 

DLA Headquarters is nice. DLA, of course, 

is a major part of supply management 

on behalf of all the services. Some of the 

students are familiar with DLA; some of 

them only know that when they order 

parts, it comes from one of the U.S. 

military organizations. So the site visits 

are a huge aspect.”

%XWWKHRQFHD\HDUVHQLRURI¿FHU

course isn’t the only class from the Navy 

Supply Corps School that visits DLA, 

.RUWHVDLG

“We also have our [junior-level] 

QLQHZHHN,QWHUQDWLRQDO2I¿FHUV6XSSO\

Course,” he said. “Those are the ensigns 

to the lieutenant commanders. They deal 

with the whole logistics supply chain, 

IURPKRZWKH>)RUHLJQ0LOLWDU\6DOHV@

SURFHVVZRUNVWRKRZWR¿QG'/$VWRFN

We bring them to Susquehanna [Pa.] to 

receive a walking tour of the facilities 

there, including a one-hour brief on the 

warehouse operations, which is big deal to 

the students.”

Since 1954, more than 630 senior 

IRUHLJQRI¿FHUVDQGMXQLRUIRUHLJQ

RI¿FHUVKDYHWDNHQ,/($'DQG,26&2

UHVSHFWLYHO\.RUWHVDLGDGGLQJWKDWWKH

courses continue to gain popularity as 

word spreads.

“Since 2011 alone, we’ve had almost 

30 students representing 11 countries 

attend the ILEAD class,” he said. “And 

LQ-XO\ZHKDYHVWXGHQWVVFKHGXOHG

for IOSCO, our largest class ever. From 

the international standpoint, we have 

more allies now so anything we can 

do to foster a positive relationship 

between nations is a positive thing for 

us and them.” 

“DLA was my Amazon.com. They are a global supplier 

and will get you what you need with one phone call.”

— Army Lt. Gen. Claude “Chris” Christianson

Christine Born, DLA Public Affairs, contributed to this article.

Jacqueline Girard

Students from the Army Logistics University 

in Fort Lee, Va., receive a brief from Air Force 

Brig. Gen. Mark Johnson, commander of 

Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, during 

a December 2013 visit to DLA Aviation’s 

Richmond, Va., headquarters.
20 www.dla.mil

A Conversation with . . .

What are some of the different 

types of training DLA provides 

its customers?

DLA offers many programs to 

train its customers. The Military 

Service Support Division within DLA 

Logistics Operations manages the 

DLA Customer Assistance Logistics 

Course, a formal training program 

that provides training on DLA systems 

and various self-help tools to military 

service schoolhouses and other federal 

agency customers. Since October 

2007, the DLA CALC has been taught 

to over 8,600 military personnel in 65 

schoolhouse courses and 2,760 military 

personnel from operational units 

across the services. 

In addition to providing DLA 

CALC in service schoolhouses, DLA 

RYHUYLHZDQGVWDNHKROGHUEULH¿QJVDUH

also presented to students attending 

the schools. DLA representatives 

SUHVHQWWKHEULH¿QJVLQIRUPDOVFKRRO

settings such as the Joint Logistics 

Course, Advanced Logistics Readiness 

2I¿FHUV&RXUVHDQGWKH-RLQWDQG

Combined Logistics Course. DLA also 

has a customer support representative 

co-located with the Army Logistics 

University at Fort Lee, Va., who 

provides DLA-direct support and 

training. 

DLA CSRs and other customerfacing personnel are co-located with 

customers around the globe, and 

training is just one of their many 

responsibilities. Our CSRs provide 

Michael Brletich

Michael Brletich, deputy division chief of the Military Service Support Division in DLA Logistics 

Operations.

The deputy division chief of DLA Logistics Operations’ Military Service Support Division talks about the agency’s 

efforts to teach its customers to make the best use of DLA assets.

on-site, over-the-shoulder training 

essentially anytime the customer needs 

it. The training itself covers virtually all 

aspects of the logistics process, from 

registering an order to checking its 

VWDWXVWR¿QDOGLVSRVLWLRQ

Several of DLA’s primary-level 

¿HOGDFWLYLWLHVKDYHUREXVWWUDLQLQJ

programs as well. The training 

provided by the PLFAs is typically 

specialized training on individual 

systems or programs commonly used 

by the customer. DoD EMALL, [the 

Web Visual Logistics Information 

Processing System], and [the Web 

Federal Logistics Information System] 

are a few examples of systems that DLA 

Logistics Information Services provides 

training on. Likewise, DLA Troop 

Support offers training on [the Support 

Planning Integrated Data Enterprise 

Readiness System], which hosts DLA’s 

Deployment Tool Book, an incredibly 

valuable resource for personnel – 

military and civilian – who are deployed 

or preparing for deployment. DLA 

Distribution also offers storage and 

GLVWULEXWLRQVSHFL¿FWUDLQLQJ

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas
DLA Public Affairs

Loglines Loglines O May - June 2014 May - June 2014 21

The full interview with Michael Brletich can be found in 

the online version of Loglines at http://www.dla.mil.

Why is this important?

Training and educating our 

customers helps them as much as 

it helps us. It helps them better 

understand how DLA is organized, the 

types of support we provide, and how 

to obtain that support. The training 

also helps improve their experience 

when interacting with DLA. DLA has 

an immense reach logistically, and 

teaching our customers about the 

various systems and tools available 

for their use helps them get what they 

need when they need it. Very simply, 

the more we educate our customers, 

the better we can support them. 

Likewise, a well-educated customer 

also means fewer calls to the DLA 

Customer Interaction Center and 

other DLA customer-facing personnel, 

ZKLFKLVEHQH¿FLDOIRU'/$'/$FDQ

then focus on solving other, more 

complicated, and oftentimes real-world 

customer issues or concerns. 

How does DLA know what 

customers need training? And 

what type of training?

DLA relies on customer feedback 

and interaction to know which 

customers need training and in what 

areas. Daily calls to the DLA CIC are 

also captured in SAP’s Customer 

Relationship Management system. 

Extracting and analyzing metrics by 

customer Department of Defense 

Activity Address Code and type of 

question has proven effective in 

identifying the type of training our 

customers need. 

Another tool we use to assist with 

identifying customer training needs is 

the DLA Customer Satisfaction Survey. 

Survey results identify target areas of 

concern that may require additional 

attention. Training can be an effective 

solution to resolve these issues, and 

better educating our customers helps 

them understand their role and ours in 

the logistics pipeline. 

Our quarterly Partnership 

Agreement Council meetings with the 

military services and other customer 

engagements are yet another great 

opportunity to get direct feedback 

from customers and determine 

requirements. The key is for DLA to 

understand what training is needed 

and work together with the services – 

a partnership – to execute. 

How are the various training 

methods and topics integrated 

among DLA Headquarters, the 

¿HOGDFWLYLWLHVDQG'/$7UDLQLQJ"

Regular and ongoing communication 

between DLA Headquarters and the 

PLFAs is a vitally important ingredient 

in all of our customer support efforts, 

including training. SAP CRM and the 

Customer Engagement Strategy initiative 

help integrate customer interactions 

and activities across the enterprise by 

establishing common processes and 

procedures. Information sharing helps 

the many facets of DLA work together 

and avoids duplication of effort. We 

continue to work toward developing a 

shared calendar that will capture customer 

engagements across the enterprise for 

better visibility and collaboration. 

Collaboration between J3 and 

DLA Training in support of the DLA 

CALC program is imperative to its 

success. Together, we’ve developed a 

close working relationship and use the 

feedback obtained during DLA classes 

WRUH¿QHWKHWUDLQLQJSURYLGHGWRPHHW

customer needs. 

How does providing training to 

customers support DLA Director 

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek’s 

“Big Ideas” initiative?

The goal of customer training is to 

ultimately improve customer service, 

which is one of the DLA director’s 

strategic goals. We strive to “delight 

the customer” by improving their DLA 

experience through ongoing training 

and education; educating them on 

what DLA can provide and training 

them on how to do business with DLA. 

As I mentioned earlier, the more we can 

educate the customer, the better we can 

support them. 

+RZKDVWHFKQRORJ\FKDQJHG

customer training?

Like with other forms of 

communication, technology has 

SURYLGHGDIDVWHUDQGPRUHHI¿FLHQW

means to provide training to our 

customers. Virtual training through 

video teleconferencing and Defense 

Connect Online has improved greatly 

with technological advances. The 

connections are faster and more reliable, 

and training can be provided to a 

broader audience and is not limited by 

shrinking travel budgets. 

Improved technology also means 

that we can develop various training 

formats that customers can choose 

from. Although in-person training is the 

preferred method, automated tutorials, 

short video clips, and other computerbased training aids can reinforce and 

LQÀXHQFHWUDLQLQJRXWFRPHVDQGSURYLGH

additional guidance as needed. 

What changes do you see in the 

future?

We strive to continuously improve 

our customer training and education 

programs based on customer 

UHTXLUHPHQWVDQGWKHFKDQJLQJ¿VFDO

environment. Given the improvements 

in VTC capability and virtual 

classrooms, delivery of training is likely 

to continue to move in that direction. 

More electronic tutorials and computerbased training aids that can be viewed 

RQKDQGKHOGGHYLFHVDQGWDUJHWVSHFL¿F

processes and systems will probably 

become the norm. As DLA continues 

WRUH¿QHDQGFRQVROLGDWHLWVWUDLQLQJ

HIIRUWVPRUHHI¿FLHQWXVHRIUHVRXUFHV

will allow a greater number of customers 

to be trained at less cost. 
22 www.dla.mil

efense Logistics Agency Director 

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek 

has made improving customer 

service a major priority for DLA 

team members. Often, that 

initiative starts in the classroom.

A major challenge DLA faces in the 

classroom is simply making students 

aware educational opportunities through 

DLA exist, said Brittany Sikes, one of two 

Army major command representatives for 

DLA Disposition Services.

Classroom 

Training

of students know of DLA, but they don’t 

really know a lot. They might know bits 

DQGSLHFHVEXWE\EULH¿QJWKHPLQWKHVH

courses, we give them a more in-depth 

understanding of DLA and all the 

different ways we support them.

“Anybody working with supply in 

As a guest lecturer at the Army 

Logistics University at Fort Lee, Va., and 

the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, 

Va., Sikes and fellow lecturer Gary 

Sandiford often tag-team topics relating 

to DLA when they step into courses, 

which can be composed of Army, joint or 

foreign students.

“With DLA, a lot of times the things 

that we do are behind the scenes for the 

customers, so the customer doesn’t deal 

with us directly,” she said. “The majority 

Story by Amanda Neumann

Joseph Lukasiewicz, team lead for platform 

instruction in DLA Logistics Information 

Services, teaches the Department of Defense 

Electronic Mall Web-based tool at the Junior 

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps’ annual 

conference held at Fort Knox, Ky.

Thomas Kik

e

N

h

s

t

i iti ti

D
Loglines O May - June 2014 23

any of the services is going to touch DLA 

at some point,” she added. “So Gary 

teaches them the broad DLA overview, 

all the product life cycles, the primaryOHYHO¿HOGDFWLYLWLHVDQGDOOWKHGLIIHUHQW

organizations within DLA. And I brief 

VSHFL¿FDOO\RQ'/$'LVSRVLWLRQ6HUYLFHV

and what we do. At ALU, we were 

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since the students are predominantly 

logisticians, and in a lot of cases, they’re 

going to be dealing with us directly on 

property disposal. At the joint college, 

because we have foreign students, it’s a 

more general brief on disposal, but I’ll 

also discuss Foreign Military Sales.”

,Q¿VFDO6LNHVWDXJKWPRUHWKDQ

VWXGHQWVLQFRXUVHVVXFKDV$/8¶V

:DUUDQW2I¿FHU$GYDQFHG&RXUVHWKH

Combined Logistics Captains Career 

Course and the Army’s Sustainment PreCommand Course.

“When you get into these courses at 

ALU, you really connect the pieces for 

the students on who we are, what we’re 

responsible for, where we’re located, what 

you need to do if you have issues, and how 

\RXGH¿QHWKRVHUHVRXUFHV ́VKHVDLG

In addition to teaching in the Army 

schools, Sikes was recently assigned as the 

Navy’s major command representative and 

has also been assisting the Marine Corps 

with its audit readiness training initiatives.

“Now that the Marines have started 

having me come and teach [DLA] 

Disposition Services systems and tools 

for customers, I see that our capacity is 

growing,” she said. “Now we’re getting 

more training requests from other 

services to go out and train, so it’s not just 

in the classroom anymore.”

In addition to lecturing, Sandiford, 

a DLA customer support representative 

assigned to the Combined Arms Support 

Command’s headquarters at Fort Lee, 

Va., also helps the Army incorporate 

'/$VSHFL¿FLQIRUPDWLRQLQWRLWVIRUPDO

training doctrine.

“This is about teaching more than 

logistics,” he said. “The whole point of 

these classes is to broaden the students’ 

knowledge. These are not basic courses; 

you go to ALU to expand your universe. 

It’s the next level up of learning their 

craft to prepare them to work in a joint 

environment. My job is to take them out 

of their comfort zones and get them into 

areas that they don’t understand or those 

they think they don’t have to worry about. 

What I tell them in class about DLA is that 

everybody needs something, and almost 

everything they need comes from DLA. 

It’s my job to teach them how to work 

with DLA to get what they need, when 

they need it.”

In Texas, Customer Support 

Representative Mike Carroll is helping 

DLA partner with the Air Force by 

EULH¿QJ$LU)RUFHORJLVWLFVUHDGLQHVV

RI¿FHUVWXGHQWV

“These are mainly second lieutenants 

coming out of the Air Force Academy, 

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2I¿FHU7UDLQLQJ6FKRRODVZHOODVVRPH

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line, they’re all new to logistics. They’re 

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DVZHOODVDIXHOVRI¿FHU6RZKHQ,EULHI

I give them the wholesale concept from a 

DLA perspective and explain to them how 

we interface with the Air Force and what 

we can do to assist them.”

As part of the Air Force National 

Account Manager Team in DLA Logistics 

Operations, Carroll is assigned to 

support students of both Air Force 

Space Command and Air Education and 

Training Command at Joint Base San 

Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

“Some of these students have been at 

their base for a couple of months, so they 

have a good understanding of what’s going 

on, but they just don’t know the big picture 

Ann Koury, DLA Energy quality assurance 

instructor, shows students a particulate 

assessment rating guide used to determine 

the cleanliness of fuel after filtering. During 

DLA Energy’s two-week Petroleum Quality 

Assurance Course, held at Fort Lee, Va., 

students learn about the daily duties of quality 

assurance representatives and spend a day in 

a hands-on training lab.

Lee Oppenheim
24 www.dla.mil

yet,” he said. “As I brief, we start talking 

about DLA and the different primary-level 

¿HOGDFWLYLWLHV7KDWWKHQOHDGVWRDZKROH

series of questions the students have, 

because a quarter of the students don’t 

know DLA. So the brief really allows us 

to get the word out about DLA and what 

our entire enterprise can do to make their 

jobs easier.”

While most education efforts are 

centered on the agency as a whole, DLA 

Energy is hard at work teaching its own 

seminars and training for customers, 

said Regina Gray, deputy director of 

the Strategic Programs and Initiatives 

Directorate in DLA Energy.

“[DLA Energy is] truly end-to-end,” 

she said. “In terms of the logistics 

distribution process, we depend on our 

customers to be part of the team in more 

ways than one. They just don’t receive 

[the product] and say thank you. We’re 

partners, so we need to make sure they are 

properly trained. We recently took it upon 

ourselves to do a study. We looked broadly 

and found out that we needed to be doing 

a lot more [outreach] than what we’re 

doing. So now, if we’re having a training 

opportunity and we have space, we invite 

the military to come in and participate in 

our seminars.”

For DLA Energy, training and support 

for its customers comes in a variety of 

classes, including courses on fuel cards, 

environmental waste cleanup, and quality 

control and assurance. 

:LWKPRUHWKDQ$,5RU

Aviation Into-plane Reimbursement, 

&DUGVDQG)OHHW&DUGVZKLFK

service logisticians use to purchase 

fuel, DLA Energy’s fuel card training 

program offers three types of training 

for its military and federal civilian 

agency customers: quarterly, webinar, 

or hands on if the customer requests it, 

said Deborah Van Kleef, deputy director 

of the Government Fuel Card Program 

0DQDJHPHQW2I¿FHLQ'/$(QHUJ\

“Typically, the [military] services 

will arrange a training day just for their 

service,” she said. “Because it’s hands-on 

training, we can answer questions, go over 

the online system, tell them what they do 

to order new cards, etc. Sometimes we’ll 

ask our contractor to be present to have 

their online system available for us and 

they’ll bring a beta example so everybody 

can practice. And sometimes we just 

conduct it on our own if there are people 

out there that need to be walked through 

the training.”

With new functionalities being 

rolled out for the SEA, or Ships’ Easy 

Acquisition, Card and AIR Card systems 

this year, new training will also be rolled 

out, Van Kleef said.

“We’re deploying a new electronic 

system for our AIR and SEA card 

programs, so we’re implementing new 

training,” she said. “The SEA Card system, 

ZKLFKZHQWRQOLQH$SULOLVYHU\VLPLODU

to the old [one], but the AIR Card system, 

l 

re

 Additional 

 Resources

DLA Energy Government Fuel Card

Program Management Office:

www.energy.dla.mil/govt_fuel_cards/Pages/

default.aspx

DLA Energy Government Fuel Card

Program Management Office Contacts:

AIR and SEA Card 

Program Manager: 703-767-9738 

AIRCard@dla.mil and SEACard@dla.mil

FLEET and Swipe SEA Card 

Program Manager: 703-767-8142 

dodfleetcard@dla.mil and 

DLAEnergySwipeSeacardProgram@dla.mil

U.S. Army: 703-767-3422 

U.S. Air Force: 703-767-0673

U.S. Navy/Marine Corps: 703-767-9552

All others (including non-DoD): 703-767-0689

DLA Logistics Information Services:

www.logisticsinformationservice.dla.mil

dla.tng@dla.mil

Jake Logan, a maintenance employee from 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Greers 

Ferry Project Office in Arkansas, swipes 

his vehicle’s Defense Department-issued 

fleet card (example right) at a commercial 

service station before refueling. Mandatory 

yearly training on the government’s Fleet, 

AIR and SEA card programs is managed by 

DLA Energy.

Stacey Snead
Loglines O May - June 2014 25

VFKHGXOHGIRU6HSWLVJRLQJWREH

vastly different. Everything will be online 

with the new AIR Card electronic access 

system. Everything that they purchased 

will be shown on the invoice, so that if 

something were [inputted incorrectly], 

they can get that corrected by contacting 

us or disputing it right online.”

In response to Alaska’s Exxon Valdez 

RLOVSLOOLQWKHIHGHUDOJRYHUQPHQW

HQDFWHGWKH2LO3ROOXWLRQ$FWRI

requiring annual training for government 

facilities that manage fuel points. Since 

then, DLA Energy has provided yearly 

23$WUDLQLQJDWPRUHWKDQPLOLWDU\

installations worldwide that store fuel 

appropriated for DLA Energy, said 

Carmela Spasojevich, a DLA Installation 

Support for Energy environmental 

protection specialist.

“Sites that are required to have the 

training are designated ‘substantial harm 

facilities,’” she said. “Several key things 

that can trigger the required training. 

For example, if a site has a million gallon 

[fuel] capacity. It’s not how much they 

store, it’s what they are capable of storing. 

Or regardless of the capacity, if they were 

to have a [fuel] release and it’s likely to hit 

a waterway, that might also trigger it. But 

it has to be a site where we have DLADLA Logistics Information Services Training

I

n addition to the military services, Defense 

Logistics Agency Logistics Information 

Services’ customers include NATO forces, 

federal civilian agencies, and even contractors supporting specific weapon systems or 

programs, said Joseph Lukasiewicz, team 

lead for platform instruction in DLA Logistics 

Information Services.

“DoD EMALL tends to be our most 

popular subject area of late, because we’re 

helping the services comply with a [federal] 

mandate to use EMALL to procure office 

supplies, toner cartridges, pens and paper, 

etc.,” he said. “In late 2013, the Air Force in 

particular came down with their [servicespecific] mandate, so in the course of the past 

year, we’ve held weekly webinars designed 

specifically for Air Force purchase card 

holders. Over the past eight or nine months, 

2,900 Air Force personnel have participated in 

our webinars, and we have requests to provide 

face-to-face instruction for up to 200 more Air 

Force personnel in the coming year.”

One unique aspect of the DLA Logistics 

Information Services training is that the team 

receives information from customer contacts 

with DLA’s Customer Interaction Center. By 

tracking high-volume contacts as identified 

by Department of Defense Activity Address 

Codes, the team members know where 

to focus attention for follow-up training, 

Lukasiewicz said.

“The data allows us take a proactive 

stance to better understand where training 

is needed,” he said. “If it’s something that 

can be addressed through training, it comes 

our way. About 80 percent of CIC contacts 

are about what’s going on with a specific 

item of supply. And most of those questions 

can be addressed through a webinar or 

with the self-help tools that DLA provides. 

We then pursue that by tracking down a 

point-of-contact at that [organization] and 

try to address that issue through videoteleconferences from here or, if necessary, 

with face-to-face instruction.”

With the constant rotation of troops, it’s 

almost a never-ending task of education, said 

Chris Nozicka, course director and instructor 

of several DLA Logistics Information 

Services’ logistics data courses in Battle 

Creek, Mich.

“We offer many products, systems and 

services,” he said. “Our biggest product is the 

logistics information itself, the national stock 

number and associated data stored in the 

Federal Logistics Information System. During 

our Logistics Data Interpretation Course, we 

teach cataloguers, logisticians, engineers, 

equipment specialists and new interns how to 

understand and use this data. 

“NSN data is a common language that 

everyone in the [Defense Department] supply chain is exposed to,” Nozicka continued. 

“We’ve been to DLA, Army, Marine Corps, 

Navy and Air Force locations to provide this 

course, as it spans a vast amount of areas 

that affect the warfighter.”

The 24-hour logistics data course is intensive, but designed to walk customers 

through what a cataloger would experience, 

Nozicka said.

“Because a lot of our customers want 

a [national stock number], for example, they 

have to supply us with a certain amount of 

data before we can produce that NSN,” he 

said. “We walk our students through how you 

would actually assign an NSN and how this is 

done from the government perspective.”

Team members also emphasize to their 

customers how this data impacts warfighters 

and how they can better use it in their jobs, 

Nozicka said, adding that the courses can be 

customized based on customer requirements.

“Last year, we had a request from NASA, 

who wanted to learn about logistics data,” 

he said. “We couldn’t go to their 13 locations 

because we didn’t have the funding, so we 

set up a VTC linked up to 13 of their satellite locations and taught the course from 

here. We also taught about 100 people in 

Mechanicsburg, [Pa.], and Philadelphia for 

the Navy last year. And this year, we’re going to two Marine Corps, two Air Force and 

six DLA locations to teach approximately 325 

students. In fact, the Marine Corps found this 

course so important they added it to their certification curriculum for their equipment specialists, and we’re trying to work with other 

services to do the same.”

— Amanda Neumann

“In terms of the logistics 

distribution process, we 

depend on our customers to 

be part of the team in more 

ways than one. They just don’t 

receive [the product] and say 

thank you. We’re partners, so 

we need to make sure they 

are properly trained.” 

— Regina Gray

funded employees, where we have fuel 

managed by DLA, and we’re paying for 

people to manage the site.”

The training, which breaks down the 

roles and responsibilities for everyone on 

the installation should a fuel spill occur, 

is conducted based on three categories, 

Spasojevich said.

3<HDUWUDLQLQJLVIRUVPDOOVSLOOV

<HDULVPHGLXPVSLOOVDQG<HDULV
26 www.dla.mil

worst-case scenarios,” she said. “Each 

LQVWDOODWLRQKDVDVLWHVSHFL¿FIDFLOLW\

response plan, and employees are 

required to know what that plan says 

and what they are required to do in an 

emergency. We need them to know that in 

case of an incident, time is of the essence; 

you need to engage right away to mitigate 

the impact of the spill. You don’t need 

WREHWU\LQJWR¿JXUHRXWZKDW\RX¶UH

supposed to be doing once the incident 

has happened.”

The two-day course, consisting of 

an administrative side, a classroom 

side and two exercises, is open to DLA 

employees and military personnel as 

well as contractors and base personnel, 

Spasojevich said.

“Because you’re engaging the 

stakeholders in the training, especially 

LQ<HDUZHVWURQJO\HQFRXUDJHDQ\

VWDNHKROGHU±WKH¿UHGHSDUWPHQWDQ\

emergency response individuals whether 

they work for the base or they work for 

DLA – to attend,” she said.

For military customers working 

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offers several quality control courses 

aimed at personnel stationed at service 

control points, said Lee Oppenheim, 

chief of the Quality Operations Division 

in DLA Energy.

“The course they take really depends 

on the role they’re in and what they’re 

likely to encounter,” he said. “In the basic 

sense, quality assurance is cradle-tograve, from development to consumption. 

Initially, the main things our service 

people do is base control testing and 

refuel customers. That’s what they know 

IRUWKH¿UVWIHZ\HDUV%XWKHUHZHVKRZ

them what happens in the development 

RIDVSHFL¿FDWLRQKRZZHJHWLWLQWR

solicitation, how contracts are awarded, 

how we buy the product, move it, it goes 

to the depot system, and you get it. Now, 

they see that big picture.”

Held at Wright-Patterson Air 

Force Base, Ohio, or Fort Lee, Va., the 

Petroleum Quality Assurance Course, 

NQRZQDV-LVDWZRZHHNFODVV

that teaches about the daily duties 

of quality assurance representatives, 

quality measurement practices, and test 

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valuable for customers destined for a joint 

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“There’s some classroom training on 

what the daily job of a QAR is and what 

the test methods are, then they go into 

the lab ... so they can be familiar with the 

testing protocol,” he said. “QARs have 

to assure that the testing is performed 

SURSHUO\VRZHFDQKDYHFRQ¿GHQFHLQ

the results. Since QARs accept product 

on behalf of the Department of Defense, 

quantity measurement policy, procedures 

to validate the accepted quantity, and 

inventory control responsibilities in the 

depot system are emphasized. For people 

who are not going to be performing 

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down for non-technical people. That gives 

them an overview of the quality group and 

how we do cradle-to-grave, both here at 

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These DLA classes are open to 

personnel from service control points or 

any of DLA’s partners, Oppenheim said.

Another way DLA Energy trains its 

customers is through the annual Joint 

Petroleum Seminar. At the most recent 

seminar, held in January, a group of 

PLOLWDU\DQGFLYLOLDQSHWUROHXPRI¿FHUV

spent the day at DLA Energy headquarters 

at Fort Belvoir to learn and network. Joint 

IXHOVRI¿FHUVPLOLWDU\VHUYLFHIXHOVWDII

and representatives from DLA Energy 

¿HOGRI¿FHVDWWHQGHGWKHVHPLQDUZKLFK

included information on international 

agreements, responding to disasters and 

humanitarian needs, how the service 

control points perform their fuel missions, 

LPSURYLQJVXSSO\FKDLQHI¿FLHQF\DQG

managing defense fuel support points. 

Guest speakers also briefed the group on 

the areas of their expertise.

“The Joint Petroleum Seminar is 

designed to gather joint petroleum 

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Defense, both incoming and incumbent, 

and expose them to several high-level 

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allow for open discussions that share 

experiences, initiatives and challenges 

in the joint petroleum environment. The 

intent is to expand their professional 

petroleum knowledge.”

There’s a little bit of everything, said 

Navy Capt. Ed Bogdanowicz, director of 

the Strategic Programs and Initiatives 

directorate responsible for the DLA 

Energy portion of the organizing efforts.

“We’re trying to indoctrinate people 

who are new to the community on 

practices, who’s who, and how we do 

business,” he said. “There are a lot of folks 

around who have been doing these for 

a while and are looking for some of the 

richer content.”

While the basics of the petroleum 

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to the subject, there were still plenty of 

opportunities to learn something new, 

participant Air Force Lt. Col. Bruce 

Bartholomew said.

“Certainly there were aspects that I’ve 

KHDUGEHIRUHEXWWKHUHDUHGH¿QLWHO\IRONV

who have not heard it,” he said. “There’s 

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the discussion that we’re having so that 

the younger folks can understand the 

SHUVSHFWLYHWKDWZHEULQJWRWKH¿JKW ́

“The briefings allow for 

open discussions that share 

experiences, initiatives and 

challenges in the joint petroleum 

environment. The intent is 

to expand their professional 

petroleum knowledge.”

— Doug Thomas
LogPoints DLA Public Affairs

BY THE NUMBERS

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\RX¶GQHYHUNQRZWKHGLIIHUHQFH>LQVXSSRUW@ZKLFKLVH[DFWO\WKHZD\LW¶V

supposed to be.” 

— DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek speaking to employees of DLA Troop 

Support’s subsistence supply chain March 27 about their role in transitioning prime 

vendor food support in Afghanistan.

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\RXDOOFDQKHOSXVZKHUHZHDOUHDG\KDYHFHUWDLQOLFHQVHV

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IXOODGYDQWDJHRIH[LVWLQJUHVRXUFHV ́

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to IT industry representatives at a “Captains of Industry” 

meeting at DLA Headquarters April 9.

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WRWDNHULVN,ZRXOGDOZD\VHQFRXUDJHD\RXQJOHDGHUWR

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QDWLRQ¶SURXGO\ ́

— Former DLA Logistics Operations Director Army Maj.Gen. 

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KDSS\DERXWWKDWDQG,NQRZ\RXUIDPLOLHVPDNHDORWRI

QUOTABLES

$42 MILLION:

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\ZPUNUH[PVUHSJVU[YHJ[ZMVY+3(;YVVW

:\WWVY[»ZWOHYTHJL\[PJHSWYVNYHT

2,409: 

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PUÄZJHS

13: 

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+3(3VNPZ[PJZ0UMVYTH[PVU:LY]PJLZKH[H

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PU

114:

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VDFUL¿FHVIRURXUFRXQWU\VRSOHDVHJLYHWKHPP\UHJDUGVDQGP\WKDQNVDVZHOO ́

— Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaking to American service members at Yokota 

Air Base, Japan, April 5.

Loglines O May - June 2014 27
28 www.dla.mil

n addition to its role as America’s 

combat logistics support agency 

and its work with federal agencies, 

the Defense Logistics Agency often 

partners with entities beyond 

American borders. Such work varies 

from helping countries develop a logistics 

organization like DLA to assisting them 

with getting excess equipment, and from 

disposing of excess equipment to being 

part of multinational coalitions bringing 

relief in the wake of natural disasters. 

DLA Logistics Operations’ Foreign 

Visit Program is a critical part of building 

those international partnerships. When a 

INTERNATIONAL

PARTNERSHIPS

counterparts and build those relationships 

for the future.” 

In a given year, about 800 foreign 

individuals visit DLA sites over the course 

of roughly 360 visits, Witek said. Those 

visits fall into two primary categories: 

senior personnel visiting DLA senior 

leaders, typically at DLA Headquarters, 

and lower-level visits that consist of 

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Within those two categories, the reasons 

for the visits can vary widely, said David 

foreign military wants to learn how DLA 

does business, inspect vehicles before 

purchasing them through the Foreign 

Military Sales program, or discuss how 

best to partner with the agency, they start 

at Susan Witek’s desk.

“[We want] to provide our allies an 

opportunity to come and learn about 

DLA’s joint logistics command model,” 

said Witek, DLA’s foreign visit coordinator. 

“Very often, they are interested in gaining 

a deeper understanding of our logistics 

structure, operations and best practices, 

so they can learn from our mistakes and 

successes. They want to meet their U.S. 

DLA Energy leaders speak to Colombia’s 

military logistics agency representatives during 

a visit to the McNamara Headquarters Complex.

Chris Goulait

Story by Jacob Boyer

n

c

a

t

p

A

I
Loglines O May - June 2014 29

“As you think of foreign visits, it’s mainly, ‘What can we do to support 

our armed forces?’ Now these countries have logistics requirements 

that are not military related and want to know how DLA does that. 

That’s been a shift over the past couple years.”

— David Kless

Kless, national account manager for 

international and federal programs in 

DLA Logistics Operations.

“Some countries that are on par with 

the U.S. are looking into, ‘In today’s 

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our money more? How can we be more 

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our organizations?’” Kless said. “Other 

countries are less developed. I remember 

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lieutenant general responsible for the 

forces in Afghanistan came. We gave 

him an overview of what DLA does, and 

how we do prime vendor contracts, and 

things like that. He said ‘This is all good 

information, and I appreciate it, but really 

my concern is how do I clothe and feed 

my troops every day?’”

When foreign senior leaders come 

to DLA Headquarters, Kless works 

with subject matter experts to build 

a presentation that will meet their 

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one-way communications, Kless said, 

but rather starting points for two-way 

conversations. Both parties can come to 

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it generates more discussion than the 

original focus.

“Probably 90 percent of the time, it’s 

a 180-degree turn from when they come 

in to when they leave,” he said. “You 

may think you have what they want, but 

show a slide that piques their interest 

elsewhere. I enjoy the opportunity to 

learn about their country and listen to 

their perspective, then try and apply 

what we do in their environments. The 

common theme is they all leave here with 

a better appreciation of what we do and 

how we do it.”

The visits can lead to concrete 

plans, Kless said, like the agreements 

DLA has with Australia and Canada to 

handle the two countries’ disposition 

needs in Afghanistan.

“There have been discussions about 

going forward, how can coalition forces 

be jointly supported?” he said. “That goes 

back to how DLA does energy, fuel or 

food, and how those countries can become 

customers in the future and work with us 

instead of just using our model.”

Kless said several recent meetings 

have focused on humanitarian assistance 

and disaster relief operations. He said 

that shortly after DLA aided the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency in 

its response to Hurricane Sandy in 

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to learn about how DLA worked in those 

types of operations. 

“As you think of foreign visits, it’s 

mainly, ‘What can we do to support our 

armed forces?’’’ he said. “Now these 

countries have logistics requirements that 

are not military related and want to know 

how DLA does that. That’s been a shift 

over the past couple years.”

Beyond visits to DLA Headquarters, 

the majority of the agency’s foreign visits 

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visits can involve senior leaders, but 

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looking for information about a particular 

supply chain or wanting to inspect 

vehicles their countries might purchase 

through the Foreign Military Sales 

program. Some countries, like Japan, 

send representatives to DLA Energy 

after interest is drummed up during a 

higher-level meeting. Other delegations, 

like a recent group from Colombia, visit 

multiple sites. 

Kelly Cuel, an FMS case manager 

at DLA Disposition Services, said most 

of the foreign visitors who come to the 

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equipment before they buy it. If Morocco’s 

military wants to buy 10 used cranes, for 

example, DLA Disposition Services may 

“freeze” – or pull aside – 20 from which 

representatives can pick.

“They’ll take a look at everything 

that’s been frozen for them,” she said. 

“They’ll see if the truck starts and look 

under the hood. From there, they’ll decide 

which ones they want.”

In the past, DLA took a more passive 

approach to bringing foreign partners 

in for visits, Kless said. But former DLA 

Logistics Operations Director Army Maj. 

Gen. Kenneth Dowd, who retired in April, 

pushed the agency to get the word out to 

its foreign partners, he said.

“Instead of waiting until someone 

has a problem and comes to us, we’re 

going out and saying, ‘Here’s what we 

do,’” Kless said. “Over the past year 

and a half, there have been a lot more 

new visits. I think part of that has to do 

with just the more proactive approach 

to going out and meeting with our 

coalition partners.”

Witek said that no matter what 

prompts the meetings, they help develop 

stronger relationships with U.S. allies. 

She added that countries sometimes 

plan follow-up visits that build on 

earlier discussions, and at times, foreign 

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at DLA as a result of a foreign visit.

“The overall intent of DLA’s Foreign 

Visit Program is relationship building and 

partner building,” Kless said. “This is an 

opportunity to share information and build 

a stronger partnership with these countries 

by giving them an idea of not only the end 

result we provide them, but all that goes 

into providing that support.” 
I AM

My Name is: 

Gary Sandiford

I am:

The DLA Military Service Support Division Army Service Team’s 

customer support representative to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine 

Command. I am stationed at Fort Lee, Va., with the Combined Arms 

Support Command.

Describe your job in a sentence.

My job has three distinct parts: 1. Guest lecturer to Army Logistics 

University and Joint Forces Staff College; 2. Supporting Combined 

Arms Support Command by writing input for the organization’s doctrine 

publications and providing timely information about DLA support; and 3. 

Providing parts and information support to Army units.

How long have you worked for DLA?

I have worked for DLA for 15 years: two in uniform in the Air Force 

and 13 as a civilian.

What are your favorite things about working for DLA?

Realizing how essential DLA support is to the Defense 

Department, Federal Emergency Management Agency and 

U.S. Agency For International Development around the world. 

What is your best memory of working for DLA?

When I see military members realize for the first time how 

DLA supports them 24/7, 365 days a year, all around the world. 

,ŽǁĚŽLJŽƵŵĂŬĞĂĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞƚŽǁĂƌĮŐŚƚĞƌƐ͍

I prepare warfighters for their future success through 

education about DLA, our mission and our people. 

Gary Sandiford

Editor’s note: We have Mr. Sandiford to thank for proposing the theme for this 

issue. We greatly appreciate his insight and initiative in reaching out to us. 

Ideas for Loglines issue themes or feature topics can always be pitched to 

DLAPublicAffairs@dla.mil, Attn: Loglines editor.