Photo By Teodora Mocanu | Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, U.S. Transportation Command commander, and Defense...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Top officials from the Defense Logistics Agency and U.S. Transportation Command reinforced the organizations’ partnership and discuss strategies to improve warfighter support Aug. 5 at the McNamara Headquarters Complex.
USTRANSCOM-DLA Day, held under the theme “Strategic Partnerships in Fiscal Environments,” was the latest in a series of annual meetings between the organizations. Leaders from each discussed the nature of their relationship and how their teamwork benefits deployed warfighters and other Defense Department customers around the world.
“We each contribute in our own way to an enterprise that is incredibly successful,” USTRANSCOM Commander Air Force Gen. Paul Selva said during his opening remarks. “I like to think of it as a strategic alliance.”
Selva described how the cooperation between DLA and USTRANSCOM in equipping and maintaining deployed warfighters is at the core of the organizations’ existence.
“Our obligation to supporting elements in that enterprise is to make them successful,” he said. “It’s the alliance that comes from our organizations that makes that possible.”
DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek agreed that close collaboration between the organizations was essential.
“I think DLA and USTRANSCOM have a great track record of supporting not just U.S. Central Command, but anybody and everybody all over the world with all sorts of commodities,” he said. “We work pretty closely with our services and combatant commanders on getting them exactly what they need.”
The two organizations also shared strategies to meet fiscal challenges.
Harnitchek shared DLA’s success, outlining his five “Big Ideas.” He discussed how they contribute to meeting the agency’s goal of cutting $13 billion in costs over the next six years and enhanced DLA’s partnership with USTRANSCOM. He expanded on that by discussing money-saving initiatives like reverse auctions, performance-based logistics, rightsizing inventory and audit readiness.
“That is our key, and has been for the last few years,” he said. “Significantly improve performance while dramatically reducing costs.”
The meeting also offered opportunities to showcase appreciation and support for the cooperation between the two organizations. Prior to the conference, Selva surprised a group of DLA Logistics Operations employees by personally awarding them the Commander’s Innovation Award to recognize their efforts in supporting USTRANSCOM’s Global Campaign Plan for Distribution initiative.
Robert “Dan” Daniels, a former program manager for GCPD, Pete Halseth, the initiative’s current program manager, and David Koch, a division chief for supply chain integration in DLA Logistics Operations, were presented with a trophy for their efforts.
“It was an awesome feeling,” Daniels said. “It was overwhelming but gratifying at the same time.”
Daniels said DLA and USTRANSCOM’s logistics missions made cooperation between the two critical.
“They know the transportation business, and we know logistics,” Daniels said. “Therefore it’s very important that we link those two areas together.”
Other topics discussed during USTRANSCOM-DLA Day included inventory positioning, Strategic Network Optimization, first destination transportation cost savings, DOD freight transportation services, an update on the Transportation Intelligence Center and fuel distribution.
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2014 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 138623 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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