The first full week of 2010 was a good one; it afforded me the opportunity to get out of the office and travel to our DAU South Region to team-teach a LOG 236 class in Huntsville. Why do I regard this as a good thing? As we on the DAU headquarters staff like to joke, everyone at DAU gets to “sing for our supper.” Teaching is an integral part of the AT&L Performance Learning Model (PLM), and obviously a key aspect of our DAU mission, so spending time in the classroom is not only a primary component of our duties for our DAU regional faculty members, but also for those of us assigned to the DAU headquarters staff. More importantly, for myself and other members of our logistics team, it allows us to directly connect with members of the Life Cycle Logistics workforce: to listen, to dialog, and to share lessons learned, best practices, policies, processes, and of course, to facilitate student learning. It also allows us staff folks to team-teach with, collaborate with, and better understand the capabilities, interests, and expertise of our regional faculty. And, of course, it allows us to remain fresh, current, and hear firsthand the issues, challenges, and concerns from folks in the Life Cycle Logistics workforce who are making things happen every day.

I never cease to be impressed with the caliber, expertise, varied backgrounds, creativity, and insights of our students whenever I’m in the classroom, and this past week was no different. This particular class, for instance, was made up of a diverse mix of Army, Navy, DISA, DCMA and industry students, all there to learn, to contribute, and to graduate more knowledgeable and capable than when they arrived. And as many faculty members will quietly admit, we often find we learn as much from our students as they learn from us. This particular LOG 236 class of 30 government and industry professionals, like so many that preceded them, reminds me yet again that our defense acquisition workforce (including our industry partners) is in extremely good hands!