TAMPA, Fla. - The urgency of joint logistics integration and modernization was emphasized by military senior leaders throughout the National Defense Industrial Association’s Logistics Forum, February 17-19.
During a panel discussion on strategic logistics, Lt. Gen. Gavin Lawrence, deputy commanding general of Army Materiel Command, and Lt. Gen. Linda Hurry, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, outlined a shared vision for strengthening strategic sustainment across the services.
Lawrence framed strategic logistics as the connective tissue between national‑level strategy and operational execution.
“Strategic logistics is the bridge that connects our National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy to the operations conducted by the combatant commands,” he said. “At AMC, we are focused on the coordination of logistics that set the conditions for operations conducted by our supported units. Ultimately, we want to realize the decision advantage that comes from clearly seeing ourselves and providing materiel awareness.”
Hurry echoed the importance of that connective role, emphasizing that the services cannot afford to modernize in isolation
“We have to be able to operate together,” she said. “We have to be able to see ourselves together and be able to present a unified demand signal to industry.”
Both leaders highlighted the need to modernize the Organic Industrial Base and the broader defense industrial ecosystem to meet future readiness demands.
Lawrence described the Army’s modernization push as a generational opportunity, noting that AMC is making targeted investments to improve production capacity, data visibility and supply chain resilience.
“Historically, we have under‑invested in the industrial base,” he said. “But I’ve never seen so much focus and energy as I’m seeing now, and we have a real generational opportunity to make a difference that impacts future readiness.”
Hurry reinforced the urgency of that work from the Air Force perspective and stressed that modernization must be synchronized across the services.
"We cannot wait for perfect requirements, we have to move out now, together, and modernize at the speed the threat demands," Hurry said. "If we’re not aligned, we create friction for industry and we slow ourselves down. This is a team sport.”
Lawrence highlighted multiple efforts by AMC to reimagine the Army's OIB, including hardening the sites to strengthen cyber defenses, increasing OIB expeditionary capabilities and connecting artisans with tactical units through the Operational Readiness Program. He also discussed the command's Weapon System 360 tool, which uses live data on Army fleets to provide visibility into vendor performance and sub‑tier supplier health.
“We are moving toward seeing ourselves better with regard to where our parts are and the performance of our suppliers,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m telling our suppliers what their problems are with their own sub‑suppliers.”
Hurry underscored the importance of shared data environments.
“If the Army sees something in the supply chain that we don’t, or vice versa, that’s a problem,” she said. “We need common tools, visibility and understanding.”
She further highlighted the importance of working across the joint environment through both discussion and exercises.
“We have to practice together if we expect to fight together,” she said. “We cannot wait until we’re in crisis to figure out how to sustain the force.”