Former Distribution commander receives distinguished Order of Saint Martin award

Photo By Brianne M Bender | Former DLA Distribution commanding general Army Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi (left) presents Maria Lindley, wife of former DLA Distribution Anniston, Alabama commander Army Lt. Col. Michael L. Lindley, with the distinguished Catharine Greene award during a June 5 change of command ceremony.  

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, AL, UNITED STATES

07.10.2018

Story by Brianne M Bender 

Defense Logistics Agency   

Former DLA Distribution Anniston, Alabama commander Army Lt. Col. Michael L. Lindley was inducted into the Distinguished Order of Saint Martin during a change of command ceremony held on June 5.
Born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, Lindley graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management. He also earned a Master of Science in Logistic Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
As a platoon leader, accountable officer and commander with the 227th Supply Company in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Lindley lead his platoon from a garrison focused organization to a unit fully trained and ready to rapidly deploy and perform war-time missions. He was selected to serve in numerous critical positions. As a company commander, his organization achieved outstanding results during a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, setting a new JRTC record for the most missions ever. He was selected to serve as the Battalion Task Force Base Cluster commander.
As commander of HHD 509th Personnel Services Battalion, Lindley’s enthusiasm and rigorous insistence on excellence enabled his detachment to excel in every aspect. The morale of his unit was unparalleled. His detachment was the only unit in the brigade to be awarded the Brigade Commander’s Unit of Excellence streamer. He developed and implemented a Mission Essential Task List training program which ensured his soldiers were trained and proficient in all duties and prepared to “Fight Tonight.” He was the first company commander of the Army’s only Force Provider Company, 506th Quartermaster Company, 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Fort Lee, Virginia. He was tasked with standing up the unit, and training soldiers prior to deployment in support of Operation Iraq Freedom. His insistence on nothing short of excellence raised his maintenance posture by 15 percent to above a 95 percent operational rating.
As the mobility officer for the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) deployed to Joint Base Balad, Lindley consistently positioned himself ahead of every requirement and ensured the Land Branch stayed on point with deployment issues. He identified and corrected ambiguities with the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Statement of Work (SOW) and rewrote it to better capture asset locations, control assets and monitor utilization.
As the support operations officer for the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Lindley provided a sounding board for all logisticians within the brigade. His support operations section was the backbone for all logistical operations during the Brigade RESET, pre-deployment training JRTC and deployment to Afghanistan. He was responsible for pushing over 1,000 pieces of equipment from Fort Hood, Texas through three different ports and direct final delivery flights to Afghanistan’s three hubs. Additionally, he developed a plan to provide a Unit Manned Equipment team in Garrison while the brigade was deployed. This plan allowed the brigade to maintain its garrison organizational property which saved the Army millions of dollars while simultaneously conducting its ground maintenance in a wartime environment.
While serving as the commander of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Anniston, Alabama, Lindley distinguished himself by improving nearly every metric the Distribution Center is measured by. He championed a fifty percent reduction in safety mishaps; and a safety first mentality. Through several process improvement events he reduced receipt times in the Small Arms Facility, centralized the process of ordering warehousing supplies, which saved nearly one-hundred thousand dollars per year, and was able to completely end all backlog at the Distribution Center’s Central Receiving Facility.
Under his command, Lindley was responsible for the first ever successfully completed one-hundred percent Wall-to-Wall inventory of the Department of Defenses’ Small Arms Storage Facility, as well as becoming the DLA Distribution Center of Excellence for Customer Service. Through his leadership DLA Distribution Anniston, Alabama was able to end years of overtime by increasing efficiency, reduced spending and increased overall quality and efficiency of the organization all while working with a seventeen percent reduction in manning. He controlled a $6.2 million budget and managed $8.7 billion in inventory; one of the largest in the Department of Defense.
Additionally during the ceremony, Lindley’s wife Maria was inducted into the order of the Catharine Greene due to her enthusiastic support for her husband and the United States Army.

• Date Taken: 07.10.2018
• Date Posted: 07.11.2018 09:54
• Story ID: 283818
• Location: ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, AL, US