DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

SUPPLYING

AMERICA’S MILITARY

IMPROVING WARFIGHTER READINESS

The Nation’s Combat Logistics Support Agency September / October 2019
DLA Director 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

DLA Vice Director

Michael Scott

Chief of Staff

Kristin K. French

Director, Public Affairs

Joseph M. Yoswa

Deputy Director, Public Affairs

Patrick H. Mackin

Managing Editor

Phil Prater

Senior Editor

Beth Reece

Writers

Dianne Ryder

Christopher Goulait

Layout and Design

Paul Henry Crank

LOGLINES

THE OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION OF 

THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Loglines is the authorized publication for the 

Defense Logistics Agency’s workforce of federal 

civilians, active-duty military and Joint Reserve 

Force augmentees at agency activities worldwide 

and industry customers of DLA. Contents of this 

publication are not necessarily the official views of, 

or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

Loglines is prepared electronically, using desktop 

publishing applications; no commercial typesetting 

costs are involved. Photos not credited are 

courtesy of agency sources. Submissions and 

correspondence may be sent to the address below:

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

SUBSCRIBE TO LOGLINES MAGAZINE

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

please email loglines@dla.mil with your name, 

organization and complete mailing address.

T

o the loyal readers of Loglines, this edition marks a 

transition of sorts. 

 In the past decade or so, we’ve seen a paradigm shift 

in the media industry, with newspapers and magazines 

ceasing or greatly reducing print production. Through surveys, 

we’ve found that most of the DLA workforce, and others who 

follow DLA, consume news and information about the agency 

through digital means. 

That feedback, coupled with the need to steward resources, 

is driving our communications efforts as well. Instead of 

producing a print version of Loglines magazine, we will focus on 

telling DLA’s story through the digital platforms that are more 

widely used by our audience. Timely and relevant stories, photos 

and videos highlighting our phenomenal workforce in action will 

continue to be available on our website www.dla.mil, as well as 

Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites.

This final edition of Loglines is what I call a “keeper” because 

it includes useful information you’ll want to keep close at hand 

for future reference. It focuses on our top priority: warfighter 

support. We start with a snapshot of our military service 

National Account Manager teams, who work day in and day 

out as liaisons to facilitate collaboration between DLA and our 

military partners at strategic and tactical levels. 

Each service fills unique roles, so we’ve highlighted the Army, 

Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force NAM teams in separate articles. 

We also feature an interview with Andy Monday, deputy director 

of DLA’s Military Services Support Division.

Other critical members of DLA’s customer-facing team 

include customer support representatives, who bring logistics 

solutions directly to troops at key locations throughout the 

world. In this issue, we bring you some great stories of our CSRs 

going the extra mile to solve customers’ logistics problems while 

increasing their readiness and saving them money. 

Articles about customer self-help tools like FedMall and the 

new capabilities of the DLA Dashboard round out a terrific, and I 

would add important, issue of Loglines magazine. 

Times change and so do our readers. Please enjoy future 

DLA stories and articles on our agency website and social 

media platforms. 

Warfighter First! 

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency 

Office of Public Affairs 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 2545 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221
Supplying America’s Military: The DLA Way .........02

Improving warfighter readiness is DLA’s No. 1 priority. National Account 

Manager teams and customer support representatives serve as gateways 

to logistics support for long-range operations and last-minute needs. 

The Army’s Center of Gravity ...........................04

DLA helps increase Army readiness rates by increasing 

material availability for key weapons systems.

Connecting the Corps .........................................07

As an expeditionary force that supports naval and joint 

operations, the Marine Corps relies on DLA for help 

maintaining critical equipment and expediting orders.

Speaking Navy ....................................................10

Relationships and understanding the Navy’s unique, often remote 

mission help one DLA team provide service-focused support.

Air Force Alliance ................................................14

From spare parts and pilot uniforms to fuel, the DLA Air Force NAM 

team supplies airmen for mission success. 

Supply Problems – DLA Solutions ..................17

Customer support representatives bring logistics solutions 

directly to troops at key headquarters throughout the world. 

Real-time Readiness .................................................24

DLA’s online Service Readiness Dashboard gives warfighters a near 

real-time view of readiness rates for key weapons systems and 

metrics for military industrial sites.

Tools of the Trade ......................................................27

Self-help tools like FedMall, WebVLIPS and the DLA Customer 

Assistance Handbook empower troops to quickly find their own 

answers to questions on material availability and order status.

DEPARTMENTS

A Conversation with 

Andy Monday ..............................................................21

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

Jared Grimshaw

CONTENTS

www.facebook.com/dla.mil www.youtube.com/dodlogisticsagency

2

10

17

27
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

THE DLA W

NAM TEAM DIRECTORY

ARMY NAM TEAM:

571-767-2641 or DSN 392-767-2641

MARINE CORPS NAM TEAM:

571-767-6198 or DSN 392-767-6198

NAVY NAM TEAM:

571-767-1493 or DSN 392-767-1493

AIR FORCE NAM TEAM:

571-767-1222 or DSN 392-767-1222

I

mproving warfighter readiness is DLA’s No. 1 

priority. National Account Manager teams for 

the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force 

stay in contact with logisticians and planners 

at the Defense Department-level to help align 

DLA goals with those of service leaders. DLA 

customer and warfighter support representatives 

are also co-located with customers at the tactical 

level to help solve everyday problems like supply 

shortages and last-minute requirements. 

The following stories highlight the many ways 

DLA employees go the extra mile to provide 

world-class logistics support to America’s men 

and women in uniform.

For more contact information, visit www.dla.mil/CustomerSupport/WarfighterSupport.

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY:
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September / October 2019 3

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

AY

Ron Johns from DLA Europe & Africa’s Regional 

Synchronization Operations Center ensures 

customers have necessary supplies for deployments 

to areas such as Orzysz, Poland, in support of NATO’s 

Enhanced Forward Presence mission.

— Photo Illustration by Paul Crank (Original Photos by Nutan Chada)
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Story by Dianne Ryder

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Army Sgt. Ray Adams and Army Pvt. Frank Taiese from 1st Stryker Brigade 

Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, change a flat tire on a Humvee at 

the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. DLA’s Army NAM team 

worked with DLA Land and Maritime to resolve issues with Humvee tires 

cracking and blowing out.

— Photo by Army Sgt. Michael Spandau
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September / October 2019 5

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

THE ARMY’S CENTER OF

GRAVITY

T

he Defense Logistics Agency Army 

National Account Manager team is 

more than a group of middle men 

connecting soldiers to America’s combat 

logistics support agency. The team 

monitors material availability, Army 

pre-positioned stock and readiness of 

Army weapons systems. 

Often described as the glue between 

DLA and the Army, the NAM team works 

with Army Materiel Command’s life-cycle 

management commands: U.S. Army 

Aviation and Missile Command, U.S. 

Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments 

Command, U.S. Army CommunicationsElectronics Command and U.S. Army 

Forces Command. 

Beyond the six-member DLA Headquarters team at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 

the Army NAM team has representatives 

with FORSCOM at Fort Bragg, North 

Carolina; Army Sustainment Command 

at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois; and AMC 

at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

Army Col. Mondrey McLaurin, the 

Army NAM team’s recently-departed 

military deputy director, said his team is 

the service’s center of gravity and axle to 

its gears.

Since the Army NAM team monitors 

more than a dozen ground vehicles like 

Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, 

Strykers and Paladin howitzers, the axle 

analogy is fitting. DLA is helping solve 

problems with tires and wheel assemblies 

on Humvees, for example.

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

 DLA NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS BECOME 

Story by Dianne Ryder

“Multiple unit reports indicated 

cracking and some instances of blowouts 

involving the tires,” McLaurin said, 

adding that sudden blowouts can cause 

accidents and rollovers.

DLA Land and Maritime is 

monitoring 12 parts in support of 

the program, and material is being 

expedited and shipped to keep up with 

demand for repairs.

“We kept the communication 

flowing here in DLA Headquarters 

to DLA Land and Maritime, which is 

working with Goodyear and Michelin to 

try to resolve the issue,” McLaurin said.

The Army NAM team involves 

DLA Headquarters directorates and 

major subordinate commands to 

bridge the gap between customers 

and DLA personnel, added Army Lt. 

Col. Delarius Tarlton, who replaced 

McLaurin as the Army NAM team’s 

military deputy and liaison to the 

Army’s deputy chief of staff for logistics. 

“The customer comes to us with a 

problem, we identify the appropriate 

place to handle the problem, and 

we ensure they’re put in contact 

with each other,” he said. “DLA is 

a very large organization, so rather 

than have a customer call every 

department within DLA until they 

find the right place, the NAM team 

saves them a whole lot of time.”

Tarlton said a National Guard unit 

recently requested standard operating 
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

procedures on turning in excess 

property to DLA Disposition Services.

“They wanted to know what they 

were doing wrong and wondered if 

there was a new SOP,” he said. They 

also wanted a recent copy of the DLA 

Customer Assistance Handbook, and 

Tarlton quickly provided it.

“Then I reached out to DLA 

Disposition Services and told them 

what the customer was requesting. 

They sent me a link with a step-by-step 

process of how to turn in vehicles, the 

appropriate things that need to be in 

the vehicles and what needs to come 

out of the vehicles,” he added.

DLA Disposition Services even gave 

pictures to illustrate the process.

“I sent that to the National Guard 

unit; they were very thankful for it. I 

haven’t heard anything back, so I’m 

willing to bet that resolved their issue,” 

he said.

Logistics Management Specialist 

Michael Boone, the Army NAM team’s 

civilian deputy, said the agency is 

prioritizing 104 readiness drivers for 

the service by resolving material availability issues. 

“We’re in the DLA director’s office 

two to three times a week for some 

meeting or engagement. Every other 

Wednesday, we brief readiness as it impacts the Army’s top 13 air and ground 

systems and any DLA readiness drivers 

that may be impacted,” he said. “We’re 

briefing trend data, material availability 

and on-target inventory.”

The primary tool for tracking readiness drivers is DLA’s Service Readiness 

Dashboard, which provides near realtime views of key weapons systems.

“Some of the drivers belong to DLA 

Land and Maritime, some belong to 

DLA Aviation and a few belong to DLA 

Troop Support,” Boone said, adding that the DLA director requested a 

consolidated enterprise view of Army 

systems to see trends and track the 

agency’s performance.

The NAM team also meets regularly 

with AMC, which recently identified 26 

parts as no longer being purchased by 

the service. 

“Yet they’re still holding systems 

down, so we actively investigated those 

and provided a response back to them,” 

Boone said. “Those are the types of actions 

that we handle at the monthly readiness 

review with AMC.

“We also hold partnership action 

council meetings at the action-officer level 

so we can resolve issues and arrive at topics 

that may need senior-leader guidance and 

updates,” he continued. “That’s what’s 

presented at Army-DLA Day.”

Earning the service’s confidence is 

key, and Boone said his team establishes 

trust through continuous, honest contact 

with teammates. 

“We’re all in it together and we all have 

the same goal – to improve readiness to 

the Army. We’re on the phone and email 

with the Army G4 [logistics] and AMC 

almost daily,” he said. “In most cases, 

our customers are looking for answers 

immediately. Rarely do I get a call and 

someone says, ‘Hey, by this time next week 

can you get this for me?’ Most of the time 

it’s in the morning and they’re looking for 

something in the afternoon.”

Teamwork is critical, Tarlton added. 

“The team courtesy copies each other 

on emails, so someone is always available 

to assist,” he said, adding that members 

work together to anticipate questions and 

find answers before they’re asked.

“That way, they look good and we 

look good.” 

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Beth Reece

Army Sgt. Jeremiah Woods

DLA Disposition Services employees help 10th Mountain 

Division soldiers remove excess equipment from Army property 

books through on-site turn-ins and working with NAMs to 

ensure soldiers understand the multistep process.

Soldiers with the 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored 

Brigade Combat Team, conduct maneuvers in a Paladin 

howitzer before artillery certifications in Torun, Poland, in 

April. The Paladin howitzer is among more than a dozen 

ground vehicles the Army NAM team monitors.

‘
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September / October 2019 7

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

Marines have historically worked in 

austere environments and virtual 

isolation. Self-sufficient, they’ve 

learned to solve problems on their own. 

Relying on anyone outside their 

immediate sphere is contrary to Marine 

Corps ethos, said Marine Corps Col. Steve 

de Lazaro, Marine Corps National Account 

Manager for the Defense Logistics Agency. 

But he and his team ensure the service 

understands what DLA can offer it as an 

expeditionary force that supports naval 

and joint operations.

“The art of that comes in when you 

can marry up the service’s needs with the 

capabilities DLA has,” he said.

Nurturing relationships with subject 

matter experts at DLA’s headquarters 

and major subordinate commands is 

key to getting the right data to Marine 

Corps partners.

“Having all the NAM teams next door 

to one another is a great way to bounce 

ideas off each other and find out what 

one service might be doing,” the colonel 

said, adding that they might borrow 

CONNECTING THE 

CORPS

Story by Dianne Ryder

DLA NATIONAL 

ACCOUNT MANAGERS 

BUILD TRUST WHILE 

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Marine Corps Cpl. Adam Dublinske

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit pass along 

boxes of supplies during a resupply at sea aboard USS 

Harpers Ferry. DLA’s Marine Corps NAM team ensures the 

service understands what DLA can provide expeditionary 

forces away from traditional supply routes.
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

others’ good ideas. “That’s why 

they pull us into DLA, to bring that 

operational experience and see how 

we can apply those DLA capabilities 

to some of the problems and 

challenges we’ve seen as operators.”

The NAM team gets daily calls from 

Marines who need help developing 

solutions for operational logistics 

problems and clarifying how DLA 

processes can help them, de Lazaro said.

“We do a fair bit of trouble-shooting 

as we focus on operational and strategic 

programs,” he said. “We give them a 

good answer or we direct them to the 

folks they need to be speaking with. 

That’s another facet of the NAMs’ job 

– not necessarily solving everybody’s 

problems, but getting them connected 

to the right people.”

Like most of the Marine Corps 

NAM team members, Senior Logistics 

Specialist Tom Adissi is a former career 

Marine who served for 23 years.

“Helping the Marine Corps get 

tied in from a service perspective 

and understand how the industrial 

base keeps that going – that’s the big 

motivation,” he said. 

A priority for the Marine Corps and 

DLA is increasing the use of additive 

manufacturing. Manufacturing parts 

with a 3D printer reduces time and 

cost compared to ordering specialized 

parts that may not be readily available. 

The service hopes to have Defense 

Department guidance on certification and 

testing of 3D parts in the coming months, 

Adissi said. Until then, DLA will continue 

pursuing additive manufacturing 

opportunities with Marines.

The NAM team is also working 

with Marines to get involved earlier 

in the service’s acquisition process 

for vehicles and parts, such as with 

the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle being 

fielded to Marine Corps units in the 

next few months. The agency already 

has the majority of the parts catalogued 

and provisioned, which allows supply 

planning for as many as 10,000 parts 

and eliminates the need for extended 

contracted support, Adissi said.

“Early inclusion of DLA in the 

acquisition process eliminates the twoto three-year process of establishing 

cataloging data for the parts and appropriate industrial base support after the 

weapons system is fielded,” he added. 

Customer support representatives 

like Dean Cassel are also a valuable 

part of the NAM team and regularly 

interact with Marine operating forces 

and supporting commands. Cassel 

has been a CSR to the Marine Corps 

for 11 years and is co-located with 

the Program Executive Officer Land 

Systems and Marine Corps System 

Command in Quantico, Virginia. 

He answers requests for assistance, 

trains customers to use DLA ordering 

and self-help tools, and helps solve 

emerging issues. Because of his 

military and civilian experience, his 

customers know him and continually 

seek his help.

“To build trust, you show up; and 

when I say that, I mean you show up 

to their meetings when you get invited. 

You show up and talk to them on a 

daily basis,” he said. “I don’t sit at my 

desk all day. I walk around, I talk to 

these people and I ask them what’s 

going on.”

Errors in the service’s stock control 

system and Distribution Standard 

System recently sent Marine Corps 

stock to DLA Disposition Services for 

disposal. The stock, worth more than 

$1 million, included items needed to 

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gregory M. Crossway, a bulk 

fuel specialist with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, 

extracts fuel using an aviation test kit during a deployment 

for training at Grant County International Airport, Washington. 

DLA-procured fuel is one of the service’s high-demand items. 

Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, prepare 

Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for loading onto Landing Craft 

Utility boats in preparation for a multiservice operational test 

and evaluation in March at Camp Pendleton, California. Parts 

for the JLTV are catalogued and provided by DLA.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Juan Anaya
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September / October 2019 9

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

complete an upgrade of the Marine 

Corps’ medium tactical vehicle fleet. 

“They needed immediate assistance 

to get this stuff back. I made the 

phone calls and connected all the dots, 

discovered what actually happened and 

was able to explain that to the different 

commands,” Cassel said.

De Lazaro said NAM team 

members rely on CSRs to identify, 

engage and resolve issues for the 

Marine Corps commands they 

support, keeping the team informed 

as they work various issues.

“There are times when resolution 

requires a more holistic response from 

the agency,” he said, adding that the 

NAM team may be able to anticipate 

obstacles and request resources from 

DLA directorates or MSCs. This was 

the case with the Marine Corps stock 

scheduled for disposal.

“We assisted Dean by enlisting 

the support of various subject 

matter experts across DLA Logistics 

Operations, DLA Finance, DLA 

Distribution and DLA Disposition 

Services,” he said.

Tom Stevenson, assistant program 

executive officer for acquisition, 

logistics and product support at PEO 

LS, can testify to Cassel’s commitment 

to the service. Stevenson has spent 

the past 10 years at PEO LS arranging 

acquisition support for the Marine 

Corps’ transportation equipment. 

Cassel recently helped him resolve 

thousands of discrepancies between 

Marine Corps data systems and DLA’s 

weapons systems support database.

“His expertise has allowed for 

orders to flow smoothly between our 

Marines and DLA,” Stevenson said. “A 

lot of work was done by my folks, but 

Dean helped make sure we were getting 

the right information so we knew what 

to go fix in terms of the data.”

Stevenson recounted a 2017 incident 

when the Marine Corps noticed the cost 

of parts for its medium tactical vehicle 

replacement trailer had skyrocketed. 

Because DLA had made no purchases 

within the last couple of years, the 

production line had gone cold. 

“I researched the technical data and 

found that the drawing they provided 

had errors, causing the DLA supply chain 

to try and procure the parts from the 

trailer’s original manufacturer,” Cassel 

said. “These items had a cold production 

line that had to be restarted, raising the 

costs by 1,000%.”

Working with DLA’s Logistics 

Information Services and DLA Land and 

Maritime, Cassel helped Marines correct 

technical data and drawings, which 

enabled DLA to competitively procure the 

parts and return costs to normal.

Problems and issues like this aren’t 

easily resolved without the NAM team 

helping the Marine Corps, Adissi added.

“We should be their focal point. All 

their questions should come to us; we 

have the expertise to fan it out to the 

enterprise as opposed to them going to 

all the MSCs,” he said. “The front door 

for them is us.” 

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

A Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 6, Marine AirGround Task Force 6, provides security while participating 

in an advanced motorized operations course at Marine 

Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, 

California, in February. DLA works closely with Marine Corps 

logisticians to ensure supplies like repair parts and fuel are 

readily available during heightened operations.

Marine Corps Pfc. Skylar M. Harris

Marine Corps Photo
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

 DLA NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS ENSURE SUPPORT BY

Story by Christopher Goulait

SPEAKING N

T

here’s no corner store or quick trip 

into town to restock supplies in 

the middle of the ocean. With a 

mission at sea, that’s familiar territory 

to the Navy and the full focus of 

the Defense Logistics Agency Navy 

National Account Manager team, 

which works in concert with activities 

across the agency to ensure literal and 

figurative smooth sailing.

Michael Olness, customer account 

manager for the Navy NAM team, 

describes their role as intermediaries, 

looking at things from customers’ 

points of view and keeping watch on 

their behalf. The team takes on the 

service’s problems as their own and 

works issues to make sure the Navy 

gets what it needs. 

To fulfill those needs, the Navy NAM 

team approaches logistics support with 

a sense of the unique and often remote 

locations where the Navy operates.

“If I’m sitting in a Marine camp in 

any country in the world doing an 

exercise or an operation, if I need 

something, I get in a vehicle 

and I drive to the next 

camp over. If I’m on a 

ship in the middle 

of the Pacific, 

my nearest 

ship might be a three-day sail away or 

more,” said Olness, who spent more 

than 20 years in the Marine Corps.

Olness’ experience helps give the 

group a more holistic perspective of 

the Navy’s mission, said the team’s 

deputy director, Navy Cmdr. Chris 

Lounsberry. The rest of team’s 

background is rooted to the 

Navy, with time aboard 

carriers, cruisers and 

submarines that 

all pose unique 

challenges. 

“When 

you’re in 

a ship at sea 

DLA AND WARFIGHTER SUPPORT SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

USS Fort McHenry is underway in the Mediterranean Sea in support 

of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation 

efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. Supply and logistics 

coordination prior to deployments such as these are essential for 

mission readiness.

 — Photo by Navy Petty Officer Erik Luebke
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September / October 2019 11

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AVY

you can get your emails and such,” 

Lounsberry said. “But if you’re on a 

submarine, that’s a whole different 

story because you can go dark and 

can’t communicate for days. Some 

people outside of the Navy have a 

hard time fathoming that idea of being 

disconnected in that way.”

Differences in the classification 

of submarine systems can also 

make it difficult for logistics 

systems to communicate.

“They fall off the net pretty often, 

but they still need to get their parts 

ordered, received and processed. They 

still need to get their requisitions in,” 

Olness said, adding that the team 

reaches down to the tactical level 

and communicates with submarine 

supply departments and submarine 

commanders to resolve issues.

Though the team is small, 

members’ experience helps them 

proactively address the service’s 

readiness issues. 

“If we’re doing our job, we can 

see problems out on the horizon and 

engage early on to prevent them from 

becoming bigger,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. 

Mike Kidd, the team’s action officer.

The team reviews reports 

and analyzes trends from DLA’s 

Customer Interaction Center to see 

which commands call in for help the 

NAVY NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

DLA’s Navy NAM team uses trends from the agency’s 

Customer Interaction Center to support sailors like 

these aboard the USS Forrest Sherman.

(Top photo) Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Mercedes 

Kiewhite sews a patch on an aircrew uniform. 

(Middle photo) Sailors bring fresh supplies aboard 

during an underway replenishment. 

(Bottom photo) Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kelly 

Milakovich fastens the tail cowling on an MH-60R 

Seahawk helicopter.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor N. Stinson Navy Petty Officer Raymond Maddocks Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor N. Stinson

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS
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THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

most, added Navy Chief Petty Officer 

Loreatha Guzman, the NAM team’s 

readiness superintendent for logistics 

operations. Reaching out after 

noticing a pattern of minor issues can 

help prevent major ones.

“One month we saw the USS 

Forrest Sherman had an unusually 

large number of call-ins just for a 

destroyer,” Guzman said. “I reached 

out to a fellow supply chief on the ship 

and asked what was going on, and 

what could we do to help. I was able 

to give her some resources from my 

experience on a small ship, and from 

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY

my experience at DLA, I was able to 

get her the help she needed to get the 

number of calls down.”

Successful support like this often 

means building and leaning on 

relationships forged both at sea and 

at DLA. Among a relatively small 

community, if there’s something the 

team doesn’t know how to handle 

directly, they find someone who does.

“There’s a saying that the most 

effective supply officer is the one with 

a phone and a pen,” Lounsberry said, 

adding that knowing the right people 

to call gets results.

“We’re making sure the right 

people are talking to each other,” Kidd 

explained. “Essentially, we’re facilitators. We aren’t writing contracts. We 

aren’t moving pallets. But we’re making sure that the right people talk to 

the people in need.”

Guzman likened one of the team’s 

roles to connecting lines across a 

switchboard. And as much as they 

connect people, they also serve as 

translators. She noticed while working 

in DLA’s Joint Contingency Acquisition 

Support Office that a lot of people don’t 

“speak” Navy. 

“When it comes to a joint effort, 

a lot of people can be more geared 

toward Army and Air Force methods 

and procedures,” she said.

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan receives 

fuel during a replenishment-at-sea from Fast Combat 

Support Ship USNS Supply. Keeping ships at sea stocked 

with supplies is a challenge Navy NAM team members 

understand from experience.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Hillary Geary performs 

maintenance on an engine aboard the guided-missile 

destroyer USS Forrest Sherman using spare parts 

provided by DLA.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Kathryn E. Macdonald

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Yarborough
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September / October 2019 13

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And while the other services have 

dedicated organizations that help 

facilitate logistics support, such as the 

Army with Army Materiel Command, 

the Navy decentralizes supply support, 

Kidd added. 

“So it’s nice and refreshing to have a 

voice saying ‘Hey, this is not a one-sizefits-all. Sometimes Navy does things 

different,’” Guzman said.

The NAM team also helps DLA 

employees understand the Navy’s way 

of doing things, as with an ongoing 

DLA Troop Support project to expedite 

back orders for hazardous material 

needed for urgent maintenance by 

deployed units. 

“HAZMAT is hard to manage because of short shelf life, shipping restrictions, customs restrictions and the fact 

that a large part of the Navy operates 

forward-deployed overseas,” Kidd said. 

“Had we not been deployed on ships 

and submarines and understood how 

challenging that HAZMAT pipeline can 

be, we would’ve been less able to make 

those connections.”

Calling on past knowledge as a 

customer helps the NAM team in the 

present, but for military members of 

the team who will eventually move on 

to other positions, understanding both 

DLA and Navy perspectives will pay 

dividends in the future.

Guzman said her knowledge has 

grown from only knowing DLA’s 1-800 

number to knowing how DLA manages 

items. That’s information she can take 

back to the fleet.

“On a ship like a destroyer, daily operations happen quickly. You don’t have 

a lot of time to stop and learn something 

new when you come onto the ship,” 

Olness said. “DLA has a lot of tools, but 

it’s not very often somebody says, ‘Here, 

this is how you use all these.’”

Seeing the big picture and 

providing a personal connection 

to customers goes hand-in-hand 

for a team working to make sure 

nothing’s overlooked.

“IF WE’RE DOING OUR JOB,

WE CAN SEE PROBLEMS 

OUT ON THE HORIZON 

AND ENGAGE EARLY ON 

TO PREVENT THEM FROM 

BECOMING BIGGER.” 

— NAVY LT. CMDR. MIKE KIDD

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

“DLA is often a numbers business,” 

Kidd said. “We are very good at the 

business of logistics, but our role is 

to augment that with the operational 

perspective of the customer that 

sometimes doesn’t fall within the 

business models.”

“That’s what we bring,” he added. 

“The team is the relationship between 

DLA and the Navy.” 

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Bryanna Perry searches for 

supplies in a storeroom aboard the submarine tender USS 

Emory S. Land. DLA’s Navy NAM team communicates with 

submarine supply departments and commanders to resolve 

issues and help keep submarines well stocked, even when 

communications can be disconnected for days at a time.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel W. Willoughby
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14 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

AIR FOR

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Air Force Tech Sgt. Nicole Finnegan, noncommissioned officer in 

charge of storage and issue for the 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 

showcases the supply facility to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Erik 

Thompson, chief of the 19th Air Force, in March at Altus Air Force 

Base, Oklahoma. DLA’s Air Force NAM team helps Air Force logisticians 

obtain equipment and parts for various aircraft.

 — Photo by Air Force Senior Airman Cody Dowell
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September / October 2019 15

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

CE ALLIANCE

Story by Dianne Ryder

Air Force Maj. Jared Newman jokes that “poof” logistics happens every time 

an Air Force mechanic reaches for a repair part or an F-16 Fighting Falcon is 

marshalled out to the runway for takeoff. But as deputy chief for Air Force fuels 

and materiel management policy, Newman knows there’s no hocus-pocus in the 

availability of supplies and mission-ready aircraft. Instead, it’s the result of deliberate planning and his service’s tight relationship with the Defense Logistics Agency.

DLA’s seven-member Air Force National Account Manager team works with 

logisticians and planners at Air Force Headquarters to increase service readiness. Led 

by Air Force Col. Ryan Bakazan at DLA Headquarters, the team has customer support 

representatives at Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 

Ohio, and Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center in San Antonio. 

DLA’s relationship with Air Force Headquarters shapes how the agency adapts 

its goals and initiatives to those of the service. It also extends to lower levels, 

connecting supply chain managers with mechanics on the repair shop floor who 

need help getting parts quickly, Bakazan said. 

“That’s mostly what we deal with in the Air Force, a part for a downed jet that 

they need some DLA assistance on,” Bakazan said, adding that his team’s role is to 

connect customers like Newman with subject matter experts. 

“It’s knowing the DLA enterprise, whether it’s here at the headquarters or the 

major subordinate commands we have around the globe,” he said. “It’s knowing who 

to call and linking up the right people so we can work the issues for the customer.” 

DLA NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS ADAPT TO 

AIR FORCE GOALS AND FORM AN 

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Air Force Senior Airman Erick Requadt

Air Force Senior Airman James Jennings, 23rd Maintenance Squadron, performs an inspection on a 30mm GAU-8 Avenger 

Gatling-style gun system at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The armament shop performs maintenance using DLA-supplied 

parts to provide aircrews with safe, reliable weapons systems.
page

16 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

A key focus for the Air Force NAM team is helping the 

service achieve 80% mission capability for systems like the 

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-16 fighter jets by the 

end of fiscal 2019. Increasing the number of pilots ready to 

fly is another priority. 

“There are a lot of variables,” Bakazan said. “Recruits have 

to complete all their training missions so they can come out as 

fully qualified pilots. Where DLA comes into it is you have to 

have enough fully mission-capable jets on the runway.”

DLA is increasing parts support for seven weapons 

systems to improve aircraft availability and increase flying 

hours, he added. The service also requested DLA suspend 

disposal of all parts associated with those systems. And a joint 

analysis of parts for the seven aircraft was conducted by DLA 

Aviation, DLA Logistics Operations, the NAM team and the 

Air Force Sustainment Center. 

“I would highlight the role we have with the MSCs, 

particularly DLA Aviation. We talk with DLA Aviation 

more than any of the other MSCs just because Air Force 

spare-parts support is big, but DLA 

Troop Support is also a big partner,” 

Bakazan said. 

The NAM team is working with 

DLA Troop Support and Air Force 

leaders in the rollout of new uniforms, 

including timelines of where they will 

be issued and when. 

Newman said he speaks with 

the Air Force NAM team weekly, if 

not daily, especially as the service 

migrates property management 

data into DoD’s Defense Property 

Accountability System, used to track more than 2 

million assets.

“Working with DLA employees like Joe Stossel, 

who’s the DPAS program manager, has been incredibly 

helpful,” he said. “We really value those partnerships.”

DLA is also supporting the Air Force’s implementation of Condition-based Maintenance Plus, or CBM+, a 

program designed to decrease aircraft downtime through 

preventive maintenance.

“CBM+ is a way to better predict maintenance issues on 

aircraft and then respond in a timely manner,” Newman 

said, adding that CBM+ algorithms allow airmen to measure 

a part’s health and predict when it will need to be replaced, 

thereby triggering timely orders for DLA-managed parts. 

Waiting until a part is broken before ordering it increases the 

time a system is mission-incapable.

“That’s problematic because that affects all of DLA’s 

demand-driven forecasting. If we didn’t order any parts for 

a year or two, those contracts would go silent” and parts 

would be unavailable, Newman said.

A lot of the Air Force’s successes are tied to the service’s 

relationship with the NAM team, he continued.

“This current NAM team has been 

great to work with and a lot of the 

members are coming out of our supply 

chain organizations, so we all know and 

trust each other,” he said.

The relationship is strengthened by 

biweekly meetings where action officers 

discuss issues and upcoming events.

“So we have those scheduled 

forums to talk about open issues or 

raise concerns and to build rapport,” 

Newman added.

Finding the right point of contact 

in an organization as large as DLA can be intimidating for Air 

Force logisticians, Bakazan admitted. And not knowing who to 

call could give them a reason to go elsewhere for support. His 

advice to customers: Call the NAM team. 

“Whether it’s DLA wondering, ‘Who do I call in the Air 

Force?’ or the Air Force saying, ‘Who do I call in DLA?’ we’re 

your one-stop shop.” 

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

“CBM+ IS A WAY TO BETTER 

PREDICT MAINTENANCE ISSUES 

ON AIRCRAFT AND THEN 

RESPOND IN A TIMELY MANNER,” 

 — AIR FORCE MAJ. JARED NEWMAN

Alex R. Lloyd

A mechanic with the 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron works on the wing of an A-10 

Thunderbolt II at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The squadron is part of the Ogden Air Logistics 

Complex, which partners with DLA to provide logistics support for maintenance of fighter 

aircraft including the F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor, F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt.
page

September / October 2019 17

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

BRINGING LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS DIRECTLY TO TROOPS AROUND THE WORLD

Marines at Cherry Point, North 

Carolina, were worried about 

back-ordered fuel bladders early 

this year until Daren Campbell worked 

his magic. Two weeks later, 11 brandnew bladders were delivered to their 

doorstep. For free.

“The Marines I support 

have so many irons in 

the fire and so many 

distractions that 

it’s difficult for 

them to do the 

deep research to 

figure out how to 

get supplies faster 

or from somewhere 

else,” said Campbell, 

would have on readiness. So at DLA 

Disposition Services’ Reutilization, 

Transfer or Donation Program 

website, he did a worldwide search. 

Results: Item available. Location: 

Jacksonville, Florida.

“They’d never been used and were 

still in their original wooden crate. 

And since DLA takes care of shipping 

through the RTD Program and the 

items were free issue, we saved the 

service about $80,000,” he said. 

DLA’s corporate-level CSRs are 

spread across the United States 

at key headquarters such as Army 

Forces Command, Air Force Materiel 

Command and Fleet Forces Command. 

They’re similar to customer and 

Story by Beth Reece

SUPPLY PROBLEMS

DLA SOLUTIONS

a Defense Logistics Agency customer 

support representative for Marines in 

Virginia and the Carolinas. 

Like DLA’s other 11 corporate-level 

CSRs, Campbell knows enough about 

the agency’s nine supply chains that he 

can answer almost any question about 

the cost and whereabouts of material. 

In the Marines’ case, he scoured DLA’s 

online ordering system, FedMall, 

and discovered a warning in Item 

Notes that fuel bladder production 

was delayed due to a dimensions 

error. A contract modification was 

underway to solve the problem, but 

the former Marine master sergeant 

intuitively knew the negative impact 

waiting months for the fuel bladders 

CUSTOMER SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES

— continued next page

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Antonio Hogue, a bulk fuel specialist with 

7th Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, monitors liquid 

bladders as they’re filled during an amphibious bulk liquid transfer 

exercise at Coronado Island, California. Fuel provided by DLA Energy 

is one of warfighters’ most sought-after commodities.

— Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Quentarius Johnson
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

warfighter support representatives 

who serve as subject matter experts for 

specific commodities at the agency’s 

major subordinate and regional 

commands. 

Corporate-level CSRs assist 

customers from an enterprisewide 

perspective, however. Rather than 

represent a specific MSC or supply 

chain, they serve as DLA’s experts 

during unit readiness briefs, help 

customers find “lost” parts, participate 

in impromptu planning sessions for 

late-breaking contingencies, accelerate 

urgent orders and even teach troops 

how to navigate DLA’s online systems.

No matter where they are or which 

service they support, CSRs are the face 

of DLA, said Army Col. Marc Staats, 

the agency’s military deputy to the 

executive director of operations. 

“The warfighters, all they see is a 

DLA badge sewn or embroidered on 

someone’s shirt. Frankly, they don’t care 

whether they’re talking to an aviation 

person or someone with a disposition 

services background. They just know 

someone with a DLA emblem is in front 

of them and they need answers to their 

logistics problems,” he said.

Building relationships and trust 

is critical for CSRs, said Bill Holdorf, 

another retired Marine and CSR for the 

Army Sustainment Command at Rock 

Island Arsenal, Illinois.

“I build trust by being here every 

day, by staying involved in the ASC 

battle rhythm and programs, by 

listening to their cares and concerns and 

initiat-ing action before they think to ask 

me for help,” he said. 

Holdorf shows customers 

he cares by giving them reliable 

answers quickly. In 2018, ASC 

alerted him of a warning order it 

had received to repair 3,000 pieces 

of equipment in just 85 days. The 

equipment was worn down from 

use in the Pacific and the task would 

require thousands of parts, none 

of them forecasted by military and 

DLA planners. 

Since DLA Land and Maritime was 

responsible for the bulk of support 

needed, Holdorf connected ASC 

with Tommy Botts, a branch chief 

at the Columbus, Ohio, activity. An 

Integrated Product Team was 

immediately established to orchestrate 

support for the maintenance effort, 

and Botts and his team screened the 

list of high-priority requisitions to find 

150 back-ordered items, many due to 

contract delinquencies that acquisition 

specialists hurried to resolve.

Employees at DLA Troop Support 

and DLA Aviation also rushed 

delivery of items that enabled ASC to 

complete the maintenance in record 

time. And although transparent 

armor wasn’t scheduled for delivery 

until after the equipment was 

scheduled to go on a vessel for 

shipment back to the Pacific, Botts 

initiated an emergency ticket for it to 

ship out on the next available truck 

once it arrived at DLA Distribution.

While he defers credit to others, 

Holdorf’s acute understanding of which 

DLA elements would be needed to complete the job helped bridge ASC to key 

players from throughout the agency. 

“It becomes a collaborative effort 

between our customer, me and the 

part of the enterprise that can best 

respond to our customers’ needs,” 

he said, adding that CSRs also build 

relationships with other DLA customer 

and warfighter support reps to lengthen 

the range of DLA’s support, especially 

in areas where customers could deploy. 

“I try to stay connected with our 

people at DLA CENTCOM & SOCOM 

and the Deployment Support Team 

“UNDERSTANDING WHAT WARFIGHTERS’ NO. 1 CONCERN IS 

ALLOWS YOU TO LEVERAGE THE POWER OF DLA’S ENTERPRISE 

TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS.”

 — ARMY COL. MARC STAATS

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Motor transport mechanics Marine Corps Sgt. Tyler Heim, 

left, and Marine Corps Cpl. Michael Allen from the 22nd 

Marine Expeditionary Unit troubleshoot the central tire 

inflation system of a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement 

aboard the USS Fort McHenry. Troops can depend on help 

from DLA warfighter and customer support reps whether 

they’re in a stateside motor pool or at sea.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Antonio Garcia
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September / October 2019 19

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

in Kuwait, as well as the team at DLA 

Europe & Africa. For instance, Ron 

Johns is a warfighter support rep at 

DLA Europe & Africa, and he is a great 

teammate for collaborating on issues of 

mutual interest between ASC, DLA and 

the European theater,” Holdorf said.

DLA representatives willing to 

work through kinks that slow logistics 

support may seem plentiful, but 

troops like having their own dedicated 

CSR, a local DLA representative they 

can go to for sudden needs and talk 

with face-to-face, said Tom Meyer, a 

CSR and retired Navy Supply Corps 

officer who supports U.S. Fleet Forces 

Command and Navy Expeditionary 

Combat Command in Virginia. 

“The reason customers like having 

their own CSR is the response time. 

I normally respond in less than 

30 minutes to the majority of my 

customers,” he said. 

Location also aided Meyer’s ability 

to end a recent shortage of gray paint 

for Navy ships. When a customer 

complained DLA took too long to supply 

the paint, Meyer visited the vendor’s 

facility a half-hour away from his office 

at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

“I drove up and talked to the 

owner of the company. We also got his 

entire team together to talk about the 

importance of gray paint for the Navy,” 

he said. “The owner of the company 

appreciated the visit and explained 

some of his frustrations with DLA. We 

worked through all of that, and I believe 

we have plenty of paint in stock now.” 

Without CSRs “inside the wire” 

with troops, the services’ awareness 

and understanding of DLA would 

drastically drop, Campbell added.

“And likewise, DLA’s inside intel 

of our warfighters’ perspective of DLA 

would diminish. DLA and Defense 

Department logistics processes are very 

complex, and understanding where and 

how to work through problems really 

allows the Marines to optimize the 

support they get from DLA,” he said.

Marines’ appreciation for DLA’s 

close involvement in daily operations 

grew recently after a routine readiness 

brief that focused on the unavailability 

of wiring harnesses for an up-armored 

wrecker. Campbell researched DLA 

systems to find out why it was taking 

so long for the harnesses to be stocked 

only to discover the delay wasn’t a 

manufacturing issue. Instead, it was 

CUSTOMER SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES

Navy Seaman Dillon Emersen, left, and Navy Seaman Bailey 

Smetana, paint the hull of the aircraft carrier USS George 

H.W. Bush as part of routine preservation of the ship. A 

DLA customer support representative recently helped the 

Navy solve a supply shortage of gray paint for such ships.

Marines with Light Armored Reconnaissance Company, 

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, perform routine 

maintenance on a light armored vehicle aboard the 

amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. DLA customer and 

warfighter support reps embedded with units at the tactical 

level ensure service members have repair parts on hand. 

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joe Boggio Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dalton S. Swanbeck
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

a result of cataloging errors the service 

made when the item was assigned a 

National Stock Number.

“When the service cataloged that 

NSN, they didn’t identify it as being an 

essential repair part, which means DLA 

doesn’t stock the item. They also didn’t 

associate the NSN for that wiring harness 

with their up-armored wrecker, so DLA’s 

weapons system support manager, who 

monitors support for that system, had 

no way of knowing there was an issue,” 

Campbell said. 

He assured unit leaders DLA would 

work with the manufacturer to beat 

the 200-day production lead time and 

also worked with service officials to get 

the item coded correctly so it would be 

stocked at DLA Distribution centers. 

Campbell said this kind of support 

would have made his job as an activeduty supply chief much easier, and the 

things he teaches Marines like those 

at the II Marine Expeditionary Force 

will make them smarter about logistics 

processes no matter where they serve. 

Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Willie 

Huff Jr.,II MEF maintenance chief, said 

that makes Campbell an incredible asset. 

“On the countless occasions I’ve 

asked Daren to conduct training for 

my Marines during my quarterly 

motor transport symposiums, he has 

never failed to generate great interest 

in the capability he provides as II 

MEF’s DLA representative.”

Staats looks for three attributes 

in CSRs: good communication skills, 

curiosity and empathy. Communication 

and curiosity are critical because of the 

vast array of supplies and services DLA 

provides, he said, and a CSR is likely to 

represent the agency to three different 

customers, all with unique needs, in a 

single day.

“Our CSRs need to be able to work 

in a very tactical environment, trying 

to figure out what’s going on with a 

part, while at the same time be able 

to explain to a flag-level officer DLA’s 

strategic goals and give insight into 

why the price of something is at a 

certain rate,” he said.

Empathy isn’t on the CSR job 

description, but Staats said it’s 

important because understanding 

customers’ perspectives and daily 

demands builds a stronger connection.

“Understanding what warfighters’ 

No. 1 concern is allows you to leverage 

the power of DLA’s enterprise to solve 

their problems,” he added. A supply 

sergeant might have a pile of excess 

equipment taking up valuable space, 

for example, but didn’t have time 

apart from the unit’s rigid operations 

tempo and training to complete turn-in 

paperwork. Or maybe he just didn’t 

know how to turn it in.

“A CSR can say, ‘Stop worrying about 

how to fix this because we can take care 

of you and arrange the right kind of 

service to get this material out of your 

hands,’” Staats continued. “That way the 

warfighter can focus on warfighting while 

DLA deals with the excess.”

CSRs don’t need to have worn the 

boots of a soldier or Marine to be good at 

their job, although many of them do have 

prior military service. Employees who’ve 

deployed with a DLA Support Team or 

worked in multiple supply chains or at 

numerous levels of the agency also have a 

familiarity with the enterprise that helps 

them match troops’ needs with the right 

people and resources, he said.

And even Campbell, who’s only been 

a CSR for five years, said he’s still discovering new things about DLA. That makes 

him all the more valuable to troops like 

Huff, who are ever eager for new and better ways to improve readiness.

“God knows I’ve engaged Daren for 

clarity of weapon system coding, hard 

to get parts and other issues impacting 

our ability to conduct timely repairs 

on our assets,” Huff said. “Although he 

does his job because he loves assisting 

others, he’s really appreciated and 

thought very highly of, from the lone 

mechanic out here on the shop floor 

grinding it out all the way up to the II 

MEF commanding general.” 

SUPPLYING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE DLA WAY

Mississippi National Guard soldiers of the 155th Armored 

Brigade Combat Team load equipment for transport and 

turn-in. Warfighters can get details on property turn-in 

and disposal from any DLA warfighter or customer 

support representative.

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Michael Williams
Andy Monday, deputy director of DLA Logistics Operations’ Military Services Support Division.

You became the Military Services Support Division’s 

deputy director in May. How does your previous 

experience prepare you to lead DLA’s customer-facing 

representatives to the military? 

I’ve been with DLA just over four years and 

most recently served as deputy director of the 

DLA - U.S. Transportation Command Support 

Division. It was a good fit because I had 

been at USTRANSCOM for 12 years before 

that. Although I didn’t grow up in supply, 

USTRANSCOM is the process coordinator for 

joint deployment and distribution. So I worked 

with a lot of the key players up and down the 

supply chain, and I understood the challenges 

of delivering stuff to our customers. 

Also, last year I was detailed to the 

Office of the Secretary of Defense to work 

on logistics reform. A lot of the things 

we discussed are now being embraced 

throughout the military, and I can help shape 

the future of DLA’s support to the services 

with some knowledge of where they’re 

heading in terms of change. 

What do National Account Manager teams and 

customer support representatives do for DLA 

and warfighters? 

DLA collaborates with customers daily. 

A lot of that interaction is done through our 

National Account Manager teams for the 

Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, 

as well as customer support representatives 

on the ground with strategic partners. The 

NAM teams are in sync with logisticians 

and other functional areas at the services’ 

headquarters. They’re involved in discussions 

regarding key weapons systems, warfighter 

capabilities and overall readiness at brigade 

levels. CSRs, on the other hand, are focused 

on military customers at the operational and 

tactical levels to help them solve day-toA Conversation with

day issues at individual units and industrial 

centers where mechanics are on the shop 

floor making repairs. Collectively, the NAM 

teams and CSRs ensure DLA is building 

relationships at all levels of the services. 

They help build trust and connect the dots 

between issues, potential problems and 

solutions. 

The fact that our teams are a blend 

of military and civilian folks means we’re 

getting timely insight into what’s important 

from the field as well as continuity in 

relationships. Our military members are 

The deputy director of DLA Logistics Operations’ Military Services Support Division discusses 

how National Account Manager teams and customer support representatives facilitate 

collaboration between the agency and its military partners. 

ANDY MONDAY

Phillip Prater

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September / October 2019 21

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION
the best source of information on what 

our operational customers need. We also 

like getting service members from DLA’s 

Agency Synchronization Operations 

Center because they’ve learned DLA from 

an operational standpoint. The civilians, 

however, give the teams continuity to take 

us through leadership changes both in DLA 

and across the services. They also know 

what has or hasn’t worked and why. 

In what ways do the military support teams shape 

DLA’s relationships with the services?

We shape them in the sense that we are 

intentionally DLA’s face to the customer. That 

means we get everything from questions 

about our supply functions to requests 

from the Army to have someone 

speak at an ROTC graduation. 

We’re focused on the supply 

and demand piece of their 

business, of course, but our 

teams represent this big agency 

we call DLA to their particular 

service. Connecting customers 

to whichever process owner 

or part of the agency can best 

address their issues is our job. 

In that sense, the NAMs are like 

switchboard operators. We’re very 

interested in getting customers the 

information and help they need. 

How do the NAM teams differ?

The NAM teams are different 

because each service and 

mission is different. The Marine 

Corps is very expeditionary, for example. 

They’re lean and light while an Army brigade 

is big and heavy. The Air Force is also very 

expeditionary and has the lead on the new 

U.S. Space Force. The new Army Futures 

Command is also taking shape. It’s not 

expected to be a big command, but these 

guys are going to be talking about the 

future. Obviously, DLA needs to be part 

of the discussions about each service’s 

changing priorities. 

Another way the NAM teams differ stems 

from the unique structure each service has 

at the headquarters level. The Army has a 

single office at the Pentagon that oversees 

logistics policies and programs and funnels 

information down to the rest of the service. 

It’s the biggest service, so this centralized 

staff helps us get to a collective Army plan or 

solution. But Marine Corps Headquarters has 

two separate entities that we work with. With that 

service, you could probably just get a few folks 

together in the room to outline and agree on a 

way forward. The Air Force and Navy also have 

unique structures.

How do we ensure the issues we’re working on are 

important to military customers?

Each service has a performance 

based agreement with DLA. This is where 

prioritization takes place and we agree on 

what’s most important to our customers. We 

also define metrics with quantifiable data 

points that we use to measure 

our performance against the 

services’ requirements, so the 

agreement is more than just a 

piece of paper or memorandum 

of agreement. These PBAs are 

strategically driven, meaning 

they capture things from a 

service-headquarters level 

rather than tactical level. They 

come up for review every three 

years, but we’re constantly 

refining them. 

These PBAs don’t take 

a one-size-fits-all approach 

because the services each have 

separate priorities. Some of the 

elements might be similar, but 

in the Army’s case, for example, 

they’ve specifically told us there 

are 104 readiness drivers they 

want us to focus on. These are critical repair 

parts the Army wants us to track through 

the DLA Service Readiness Dashboard to 

make sure we have enough stock on hand 

when needed. Likewise, the other services 

have mission-specific supply needs that we 

prioritize and track.

How is the division using tools like the DLA Service 

Readiness Dashboard to adapt to an environment 

of fewer people?

Reducing staff as we’re required by 

Defense Department manpower reductions 

will make us look differently at how we serve 

customers in the future. Warfighters like 

FROM SPARE PARTS TO 

PROPERTY DISPOSAL, 

WE’RE HERE TO SUPPORT 

AMERICA’S MEN AND 

WOMEN IN UNIFORM, 

AND WE HAVE A 

REPUTATION FOR GOING 

THE EXTRA MILE TO MEET 

WARFIGHTERS’ NEEDS.

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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
having DLA representatives sitting right next 

to them where they’re operating. Without 

doing away with CSRs, we may need to 

cut back. Rather than being as far forward 

as we’re used to being, we’ll leverage 

technology. Tools like the new DLA Service 

Readiness Dashboard give us quick visibility 

of trends that may be keeping readiness 

down. Our NAM teams are using this data to 

help prioritize, with input from the customer, 

what it is we focus on. We’re trying to pinpoint 

those things that are most essential, where 

we can have the largest impact earlier and 

within the given resources. 

That said, I’m a firm believer that we 

shouldn’t get away from face-to-face 

communication. There’s a lot of value in 

going over to Army Materiel Command or 

the Air Force’s logistics centers and meeting 

people because that’s how you build 

relationships. So while we’ll be strengthening 

the virtual relationships we have with 

customers, we won’t completely do away with 

face-to-face interaction like what we have at 

annual service-DLA days, for example.

How does DLA make sure warfighters know 

how to do business with the agency?

For our tactical customers who are 

out there working on repairs or ordering 

supplies for their units, we have the Customer 

Interaction Center, a 24/7 hotline in Battle 

Creek, Michigan, where agents are available 

to answer questions ranging from the status 

of an order to stock availability. It’s also a 

good place to get help if DLA systems 

are down and a customer needs to get a 

requisition in quickly. 

Additionally, we have a training 

team in DLA Logistics Operations with 

instructors who go out and give unit 

training on FedMall, DLA’s online ordering 

system, and other tools customers can 

use to track orders or get information on 

National Stock Numbers. Our customer 

and warfighter support representatives 

are also known to provide spontaneous 

training when they recognize a customer 

needs some help learning to use our 

systems. They’ll even provide specialized 

training if a unit is about to head out on 

deployment so they know what DLA 

resources are available in the region 

they’re heading to as well as how to get 

in contact with the appropriate people 

at DLA’s major subordinate commands 

who are experts in commodities like food 

and fuel. Lastly, DLA offers academic 

courses at National Defense University 

and service leadership schools like the 

Army War College. 

DLA was created to manage supplies 

for all the services. From spare parts to 

property disposal, we’re here to support 

America’s men and women in uniform, 

and we have a reputation for going the 

extra mile to meet warfighters’ needs. 

Whether we’re working with service 

members at the strategic or tactical level, 

the Military Service Support Division has a 

big role in facilitating success. 

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September / October 2019 23

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION
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24 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Story by Beth Reece

Of all the things that can stop 

a production line for aircraft 

engine repairs – not enough 

workers, lack of floor space, conflicting 

requirements – the Defense Logistics 

Agency controls one: material 

availability. Multiply that by the 30 to 

40 production lines needed to fix an 

aircraft engine and the agency’s stake 

in military readiness quickly grows. 

DLA’s Service Readiness Dashboard measures how well the agency 

does its part to keep production 

flowing. Created in March 2018 to 

provide near real-time reporting 

on readiness rates for key weapons 

systems, the online tool now includes 

metrics to measure DLA’s support at 

military industrial sites like Anniston 

Army Depot and the Ogden Air 

Logistics Complex. 

“This gives the services’ leadership 

and ours a common operating picture 

of drivers that might be impacting a 

specific weapons system production 

line. Giving both service members 

and DLA employees access to the data 

we’re tracking stimulates collaboration 

and helps ensure we’re in sync with 

each other,” said Pat Cihak, operations 

research analyst for DLA Logistics 

Operations’ Metrics Integration Branch. 

For operational readiness 

monitoring, each service determined 

SERVICE READINESS DASHBOARD

REAL-TIME RE

Sithon Lag, a welder at Marine Corps Logistics Base 

Barstow in California, uses an angle grinder to deburr metal 

on a vehicle during the rebuild process. DLA and military 

leaders get a real-time view of drivers that impact specific 

weapons systems production lines with the agency’s Service 

Readiness Dashboard.

Jack J. Adamyk
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September / October 2019 25

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

which weapons systems DLA included 

in the Dashboard. Three air and 10 

ground systems were selected for the 

Army, for example. Systems are coded 

as green, amber or red depending on 

whether they’re operational or out 

of service for reasons ranging from 

maintenance to parts.

The new industrial metrics help 

complete the readiness picture by 

focusing on production lines that 

relate to those key weapons systems, 

said Sean Ahrens, Metrics Integration 

Branch chief.

“Let’s say we’re looking at Army 

ground systems being repaired in the 

depots. We can pull up all the depotreported industrial back orders, export 

the data into Excel and filter it any 

way we need to highlight critical line 

stoppers or oldest back orders,” he said.

Before the Dashboard, DLA only 

tracked how many back orders it had 

for industrial support as a whole. 

Decision makers and planners didn’t 

have easy access to data that indicated 

which back-ordered items were 

most important or which depot and 

production line needed them. 

Since industrial metrics now 

allow the agency to quickly identify 

back-ordered items causing work 

stoppages on production lines as 

well as potential line stoppers, orders 

for those back-ordered items can be 

expedited, Ahrens said. 

Fueled by information from DLA’s 

Enterprise Data Warehouse and the 

services’ supply systems, the Dashboard 

also tracks how much stock is available, 

estimated shipping dates and even 

whether depots are ahead or behind on 

production schedules. And since users 

are viewing near-real time data, they can 

react quickly as issues emerge.

“That’s a huge change because 

we used to wait until the end of the 

month to gather and analyze metrics, 

and that meant we were looking into 

problems that happened almost two 

months ago, saying ‘Gee, I wish I’d 

known about that when it happened; 

ADINESS

Artisans use DLA-procured parts to repair and upgrade 

crew capsules of Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected AllTerrain Vehicles at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow 

in California.

Guadalupe Perez, heavy equipment mechanic at Marine 

Corps Logistics Base Barstow in California, tightens screws 

on a right axle drive of an Assault Amphibious Vehicle. DLA’s 

Dashboard tracks available stock and estimated shipping 

dates in real time.

Keith Hayes Jack J. Adamyk
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26 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

maybe I could’ve done something to 

fix it,’” Ahrens continued.

DLA officials want the Dashboard 

to be a tool service logisticians and 

even Defense Department leaders 

can rely on to quickly view the status 

of DLA’s support. To prove it, the 

agency recently started using the 

Dashboard to track an additional 

104 items the Army considers key 

readiness drivers.

“The goal is to keep a healthy stock 

of those items. We just built the list, 

and mission availability is only at about 

30% so we’ve got a way to go,” Ahrens 

said. “And although only about 30% of 

those 104 items go to the 13 weapons 

systems the Army originally asked us to 

track, this is another way we can support 

the service’s industrial efforts.”

Weapons systems currently being 

tracked in the Dashboard were chosen 

by the services about two years ago as 

the Dashboard was developed. DLA is 

working with the services to revalidate 

whether those systems remain the most 

critical for combat power. 

Future Dashboard enhancements 

will include an on-target inventory 

metric to assist supply planners in 

assessing stock levels. It will detail all 

items ordered for specific weapons 

systems for the past three years and 

show DLA stock levels for those 

items. Metrics that measure types 

and quantity of stock at military 

warehouses could also help logistics 

planners optimize stock levels at those 

warehouses, particularly in cases where 

depots may be trying to save money 

by relying on stock stored off-site even 

though it can take days for parts to be 

shipped, Ahrens added.

Service leaders focused on overall 

readiness rates and tighter funding 

for new equipment will find valuable 

data on the Dashboard too, he said.

“If the Army is trying to get 

readiness rates for the M1 tank up to 

80%, then fixing the ones sitting at 

the depot waiting for repairs means 

one more M1 in the plus category and 

one less down,” he continued. “The 

money for brand-new systems is tight 

across the board.” 

The Dashboard shows DLA’s 

commitment to being transparent 

and sharing data – good and bad – 

with warfighters. 

“We’re not worried about being a 

Fortune 500 company. We’re 100% 

focused on doing our part to improve 

readiness rates,” Ahrens said.

SERVICE MEMBERS CAN GAIN ACCESS TO THE COMMON-ACCESS-CARD-ENABLED

DASHBOARD BY CONTACTING THEIR NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER.

DLA EMPLOYEES CAN ACCESS THE DASHBOARD AT

https://enterprisedashboard.dla.mil/dashboard.

Artisans at the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in 

Jacksonville, Florida, begin to reattach a T-6 Texan’s wings. 

DLA’s Dashboard helps logistic planners track the status of 

the agency’s support to such aircraft, which is used to train 

Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

Victor Pitts
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“Where’s my stuff?” troops 

relentlessly want to know. 

Defense Logistics Agency 

customer support specialists like 

Mike Chapman are happy to find their 

answer, but true help is empowering 

customers to get it themselves.

“Once they have a knowledge base 

on how to use our self-help tools, they 

can take care of their own questions 

rather quickly. I can’t tell you how 

many times our training folks have 

heard, ‘Gosh, if only I’d known that 10 

years ago,’ or ‘Gosh, I wish I’d known 

that sooner,’” he said. 

Chapman and his DLA Logistics 

Operations Training Team shows 

troops how to help themselves by 

instructing them on four primary 

resources: FedMall, WebFLIS, FED LOG 

and WebVLIPS. FedMall, the federal 

government’s online ordering system, 

gives users access to tens of millions 

of items from DLA and the General 

Services Administration, as well as 

commercial off-the-shelf products. 

WebFLIS is the online Federal 

Logistics Information System. It 

contains over 15 million items and 

provides details such as National Stock 

Numbers, approved item names, part 

numbers, manufacturer data, physical 

and performance characteristics, and 

more. Buyers can access the data 

electronically with a common access 

card or via FED LOG if they don’t 

have internet access. FED LOG is also 

available in DVD/CD format or for 

download at FedMall.

WebVLIPS, or Web Visual Logistics 

Information Processing System, is also 

CAC-enabled and allows users to track 

orders from the time they’re released 

into the Defense Department pipeline 

until the material is received and 

recorded by the unit of destination. The 

status and location are available for 60 

days after transactions are completed. 

The ordering process typically 

begins with WebFLIS or FED 

LOG, where users determine an item’s 

NSN, the 13-digit code assigned to 

every item repeatedly bought, stocked, 

used, distributed and disposed of 

through the federal supply system. 

“Let’s say the customer has pulled 

a part off a piece of equipment and 

all the information he has is the 

manufacturer’s part number. He can 

use either of those tools to identify the 

part by NSN,” Chapman said. 

WebFLIS data is updated four to six 

times a day, and changes to the system 

have made it more user-friendly than 

ever, he added. 

Service members in supply and 

logistics get a brief introduction to 

DLA in their initial job training, 

but Chapman’s team extends their 

knowledge with hands-on training on 

the agency’s processes and systems 

through classroom instruction and 

distance learning with online courses 

and video teleconferences. Training is 

customized to customers’ needs.

“For example, we’ll pull data from 

a respective unit to figure out what 

their pain points are. If we know 

what kinds of calls they’re making 

to our Customer Interaction Center, 

we know what things they’re having 

Story by Beth Reece

TOOLS

OF THE

TRADE
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

SELF-HELP TOOLS

FedMall

www.fedmall.mil

DoD’s online ordering system. Provides access to research and tracking tools. 

WebFLIS

www.dla.mil/does/webflis

Provides essential information for supply items including National Stock 

Numbers, item names, part numbers, manufacturer data, physical and 

performance characteristics, and more.

FED LOG

www.dla.mil/does/FEDLOG

Provides access to WebFLIS data when internet access is unavailable.

WebVLIPS

www.transactionservices.dla.mil/daashome/webvlips

Allows users to track orders from the time they’re released into the DoD 

pipeline until they’re receipted by the unit of destination.

Reutilization, Transfer or Donation Program

www.dla.mil/DispositionServices/DDSR/PropertySearch

DLA Disposition Services’ tool for finding and acquiring excess material 

without paying shipping costs. 

DLA Handbook

www.dla.mil/CustomerSupport/Resources/Communications

A comprehensive guide for working with DLA. Includes contact information, 

program details, code descriptions, guidance on procedures and more.

U.S. Transportation Command’s IGC 

https://www.igc.ustranscom.mil/igc

Global database that combines DLA and USTRANSCOM data. Good for 

tracking status of “frustrated” cargo that’s mislabeled and not traceable in 

WebVLIPS.

difficulty with. Then we can tailor our 

training to them,” Chapman said.

The CIC – at 1-877-DLA-CALL – is 

DLA’s one-call resolution center, where 

callers get help with everything from 

placing orders to the availability of 

excess equipment managed by DLA 

Disposition Services. Agents take about 

1,500 calls a day, 24/7, and while they 

exist solely to help customers, those 

who know how to use DLA’s self-help 

tools can often find answers faster.

“A lot of times the customer is 

looking for some pretty basic information, and if they know how to use our 

systems, they can retrieve that data in 

seconds versus waiting for an escalated 

ticket to be processed,” he added. 

CIC agents try to educate callers 

on how to research easy questions 

on their own when the call volume is 

slow. Customer and warfighter support 

representatives co-located with troops 

also offer over-the-shoulder training 

on DLA’s ordering systems and 

arrange formal training by Chapman’s 

team if more in-depth instruction is 

needed. When DLA recognized U.S. 

aircraft maintainers at Royal Air Force 

Lakenheath, England, were repeatedly 

calling the CIC for assistance with order 

rejections, a trainer offered the unit onsite instruction.

“With rejected requisitions, customers usually don’t know why they’re being 

pushed back or whether the item is on 

back order,” Chapman said, adding 

that FedMall users can input the NSN 

in DLA Orders and see why it’s back 

ordered under Item Notes.

The DLA Orders page is available 

from FedMall’s drop-down Tools 

tab. From there, users can navigate 

to Item Notes to see a list of 

substitutes, if any exist, for out-ofstock or obsolete items. These details 

aren’t available in the customer 

order details, so it’s important that 

users know about the DLA Orders 

and Item Notes sections of FedMall, 

he added.

Courtesy Photo

Daren Campbell, a DLA customer support representative for 

Marines in Virginia and the Carolinas, familiarizes warfighters 

with DLA’s self-help and ordering tools like FedMall. 
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September / October 2019 29

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

“I’ve seen where people have 

ordered the same NSN five or six times 

because it was rejected, but had they 

just looked in the right section they’d 

have found the NSN for a replacement 

for the item,” he continued.

Customers who can’t find the status 

of their supplies in DLA systems may 

want to check U.S. Transportation 

Command’s IGC, a global database that 

combines DLA and USTRANSCOM 

data, said Tom Bruns, chief of DLA 

Logistics Operations’ portfolio program 

support. “Frustrated” cargo that’s 

mislabeled, for example, is tracked in 

the IGC but not WebVLIPS. 

Customers ordering material that’s 

out of stock or delayed by long production times may also want to search for it 

in DLA Disposition Services’ Reutilization, Transfer or Donation Program.

“This program is a huge benefit 

because it saves taxpayers’ dollars and 

reduces customer wait-time,” said 

Daren Campbell, customer support 

representative for Marines in Virginia 

and the Carolinas. 

Though material is considered 

excess, it’s often brand-new, he added. 

DLA also pays to ship the items.

Bruns, who queries customers to 

determine what problems they’re having 

with DLA’s self-help tools and online 

training, acknowledged that FedMall, 

WebFLIS, FED LOG and WebVLIPS 

each have their own look and feel. And 

that can throw some customers off. 

“The tools aren’t built on the same 

type of platform, so while customers 

may know how to use a particular 

tool, when they switch over to another 

tool they have to learn a whole new 

language and capability. It’s not like 

going from an Amazon-like site to 

another Amazon-like site,” he said, 

adding that the more a customer uses 

DLA’s self-help tools, the more intuitive 

they become. 

One tool all customers agree on 

is the DLA Customer Assistance 

Handbook, which includes contact 

information for representatives at all 

of the agency’s locations and supply 

chains, a list of Federal Supply Class 

assignments, code descriptions, 

acronyms and other resources.

 “They love it,” Bruns said. “Many 

customers prefer to have it in hardcopy 

so they can earmark it and write notes 

on the sides.” 

The DLA Customer Assistance Handbook is updated every six months and can be downloaded at 

www.dla.mil/CustomerSupport/Resources/Communications.

Customers can view descriptions of courses provided by the DLA Logistics Operations Training Team at 

www.dla.mil/HQ/LogisticsOperations/TrainingandReferenceCourseDescriptions

or call 269-961-4829 for more information.
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THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS — ON TIME, EVERY TIME

I AM DLA

My name is: 

Jared Grimshaw

I am:

A property disposal specialist for DLA Disposition Services. 

Describe your job in a sentence:

I work side by side with our customers, providing program 

oversight, training, guidance and solicitation of the incredible 

services that DLA Disposition Services has to offer. Finding 

unique and innovative ideas to better serve my customers is both 

challenging and fun, and brings fulfillment and reward.

How long have you worked for DLA?

I began working for DLA in 2012.

What is your favorite thing about working for DLA?

Having the daily opportunity to give toward something outside 

of and much bigger than myself. Knowing that through my efforts 

and the work I accomplish, I become a single piece of the integral 

puzzle that encompasses the good that we do here. Providing medical supplies to agencies 

saving lives, equipping volunteer firefighters with equipment they wouldn’t otherwise have 

money for and, most importantly, aiding and assisting our service members in capacities that 

I may never even have purview to. Never having served myself and being so appreciative of 

those who have, this is one way for me to give back.

What are your best memories of working here?

I have many, but one that comes to mind was receiving a heartfelt “thank you” and a 

photograph from one of my Computers for Learning Program [provides information technology 

equipment to schools] customers that captured young students hard at work, enjoying their 

new fully equipped computer lab, provisioned simply and entirely because a handful of people 

decided to come to work each day.

How do you make a difference?

By doing the opposite of what we’ve all been told. I bring my personal life to work with me 

each day. I wear the badge of honor of my beautiful and amazing wife on my sleeve. Letting my 

children’s indescribably adorable 

faces translate through my speech 

when speaking to others and trying Jared Grimshaw to love my neighbor as myself.