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Defense Logistics Agency people work behind and, in some cases, alongside Air Force members to ensure Airmen have what they need to accomplish their missions. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ted Theopolos)
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Defense Logistics Agency aims high to support Air Force
Posted 3/8/2011
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by Sara Moore
Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Communications
3/8/2011 - FORT BELVOIR, Va. (AFNS) -- Air Force men and women are engaged around the world, flying combat missions in war zones, operating unmanned aircraft, developing and maintaining satellites, operating advanced weapons systems and conducting myriad other missions in support of combat operations, humanitarian assistance and homeland defense.
And wherever Air Force units are engaged, Defense Logistics Agency people are working behind and, in some cases, right alongside them to ensure Airmen have what they need to accomplish their missions.
Throughout its history, DLA has supported the Air Force in one way or another. Today, that support is all-encompassing, involving all the agency's supply chains and the active, National Guard and Reserve forces, said Col. Rex Adee, the Air Force national account manager in DLA Logistics Operations.
"DLA, in some form or fashion, has been entwined with the Air Force since its existence," Colonel Adee said. "The Air Force is a major customer of DLA."
The Air Force, in fact, is the largest customer of DLA Energy and also a major customer of DLA Aviation, Colonel Adee said. The service did more than $7 billion worth of business with DLA Energy in fiscal 2010, with most of that being spent on petroleum, he said. And in the past year, the Air Force was responsible for 41 percent of the growth of DLA Aviation's business.
Colonel Adee and his team act as liaisons between the Air Force and DLA
In addition to dealing directly with operational customers, they work closely with officials at Headquarters Air Force and Air Force Materiel Command, as well as DLA's primary-level field activities and organizations within DLA Headquarters to resolve customer issues, answer questions and improve communication.
"We raise issues that we are told about or that we reach out and find out so that we can, from an enterprise approach, be able to provide the support that the Air Force needs across all of DLA," Adee said.
The biggest issues the Air Force Service Team is currently working on are changes brought about by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure legislation, including direct DLA support at the service's industrial centers and a new supply chain management approach, said Donald Virostko, an Air Force customer account manager in DLA Logistics Operations.
The Air Force is the first customer to receive large-scale industrial retail support from DLA, so there have been some growing pains, he said. DLA and Air Force senior leaders meet regularly on the subject, and DLA Aviation has teams at air logistics centers working alongside Air Force personnel to improve and streamline logistics operations.
DLA Information Operations personnel also have worked closely with Air Force officials to develop new capabilities that are improving logistics operations, Mr. Virostko said. DLA's Integrated Data Environment staff members worked with their Air Force counterparts to develop a direct feed that provides near-real-time information to the service's automated sourcing system.
Also, personnel from DLA Information Operations and DLA Logistics Operations were instrumental in helping service officials design a new enterprise combat support system. DLA lessons learned also should help the service officials with their Enterprise Resource Planning implementation and enhance the line of communication with the Defense Department's global combat support system, Mr. Virostko said.
DLA also supports the Air Force in the distribution area, he said. DLA Distribution personnel provided warehouse space for the Air Force in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan for storing its readiness spare packages, which are critical parts that used to travel with deploying units but can now be stored in theater, saving transportation costs. DLA specialists also works with those in U.S. Transportation Command to expedite delivery of material within Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
Colonel Adee also noted that DLA support teams are on the ground with customers in theater and can reach back to his team or other organizations within DLA to resolve problems.
"There are all those sorts of things that we're involved in, expediting or assisting the Air Force with its in-theater needs," Mr. Virostko said.
Having the Air Force Service Team at DLA Headquarters allows for a very dynamic support system, Mr. Virostko said. He noted an instance when the team was contacted by members of an organization in theater requesting an anti-icing product to inject into fuel lines. The team was able to meet with Air Force petroleum personnel in DLA Headquarters and establish what their requirements were, then work with DLA Energy and DLA Distribution team members to get the product to warfighters, and finally establish set levels for the product so it is always available in Afghanistan.
"It's not just getting stuff there, but enhancing the support we offer the Air Force," he said.
In addition to directly supporting the Air Force's operational needs, the service team spends a lot of time educating its military customers on the services DLA provides and how the other military services' requirements can impact theirs, Colonel Adee said. The whole Military Support Division in DLA Logistics Operations, which includes support teams for each service, works together to present an enterprise view to customers and promote information sharing in a joint environment, he said. He noted that the agency's We Are DLA initiative has been very helpful in promoting that enterprise view, as customers now have a clear idea of the services DLA personnel provide.
"It's an entire team approach, but we happen to be a conduit for both DLA folks to talk to the Air Force or Air Force to come in and talk to DLA," Colonel Adee said. "Our whole purpose is 'How can we improve DLA support to the service?"
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