WEBVTT

00:08.840 --> 00:12.800
I first came uh to um to D .

00:12.800 --> 00:16.800
L . A . When I was hired by the Defense

00:16.800 --> 00:19.022
Personnel Support center which was what

00:19.022 --> 00:21.390
it was called in South philadelphia , I

00:21.390 --> 00:23.530
was hired into the subsistence

00:23.540 --> 00:26.440
organization . Prior to that I had

00:26.440 --> 00:30.390
spent and that was in 1988 .

00:30.740 --> 00:34.120
Uh Prior to that I had worked for the

00:34.120 --> 00:37.630
navy . Uh And a promotional opportunity

00:37.640 --> 00:40.640
came up and I went to work for the

00:40.640 --> 00:43.450
subsistence organization . And it was a

00:43.450 --> 00:46.780
month before a couple of months before

00:46.790 --> 00:50.630
Operation Desert Storm . At that time

00:50.640 --> 00:52.900
there were three major commodities down

00:52.900 --> 00:55.160
at the south philadelphia medical

00:55.170 --> 00:57.850
subsistence and in clothing and textile .

00:58.040 --> 00:59.990
At first it was a focus a lot on

01:00.000 --> 01:02.056
operational rations because I really

01:02.056 --> 01:04.167
didn't have a whole lot of experience

01:04.167 --> 01:06.333
with what operational rations were and

01:06.333 --> 01:08.500
the different kinds and so forth , how

01:08.500 --> 01:10.500
they were made , how long the shelf

01:10.500 --> 01:13.800
life was etcetera . But then I also um

01:13.810 --> 01:16.940
got very familiar with a lot of

01:16.940 --> 01:20.650
commercial buying . We provide all the

01:20.650 --> 01:23.120
fresh fruits and vegetables for troops

01:23.120 --> 01:25.650
around the world where we buy them how

01:25.650 --> 01:27.761
they're shipped , how do we keep them

01:27.761 --> 01:29.983
in a condition that will be edible when

01:29.983 --> 01:32.206
they get to the other end . Uh And then

01:32.206 --> 01:34.317
we did a lot of work at the time . We

01:34.317 --> 01:36.720
were buying all the commercial products

01:36.720 --> 01:39.760
for Decca defense commissary agency .

01:40.140 --> 01:43.540
And that was basically buying product

01:43.540 --> 01:45.740
that you would find at any supermarket

01:45.750 --> 01:48.400
whether it be fresh fruit or whether it

01:48.400 --> 01:51.740
be fresh meats , seafood .

01:51.750 --> 01:54.510
So anything that you would find in a

01:54.510 --> 01:57.420
typical supermarket in at those at that

01:57.420 --> 01:59.476
time in south philadelphia . We were

01:59.476 --> 02:01.220
supporting deca we were buying

02:01.230 --> 02:03.750
everything for the commissary system .

02:04.140 --> 02:07.850
And uh so in addition to

02:07.850 --> 02:10.290
that , we were looking at how we were

02:10.290 --> 02:13.790
supporting our troops with traditional

02:13.790 --> 02:17.310
feeding in what we call defects uh the

02:17.320 --> 02:20.450
the mess halls if you would um and at

02:20.450 --> 02:23.210
that time , believe it or not back in

02:23.220 --> 02:26.400
uh Back in the 80s , uh we were

02:26.400 --> 02:28.550
basically following a business model

02:28.560 --> 02:32.380
that had been um put in place for over

02:32.380 --> 02:35.580
a century which was buying product and

02:35.580 --> 02:38.060
sending it to a warehouse . So we would

02:38.060 --> 02:41.580
buy bulk coffee , we would buy bulk

02:41.590 --> 02:44.720
sugar , send it to the warehouse and

02:44.720 --> 02:46.887
then the warehouse would break it down

02:46.887 --> 02:50.220
and send those products to the defects

02:50.230 --> 02:53.520
worldwide so that the inventory model

02:53.530 --> 02:56.260
and so forth was really something that

02:56.270 --> 02:58.840
just we kept doing because that's how

02:58.840 --> 03:01.007
we had supported the troops for many ,

03:01.007 --> 03:03.007
many years including up and through

03:03.007 --> 03:06.380
Vietnam . Yeah . Um so one of the

03:06.380 --> 03:09.200
things that uh we looked at in those

03:09.200 --> 03:13.090
early days were with mr molino and made

03:13.090 --> 03:15.090
if incentives and people like keith

03:15.090 --> 03:17.257
ford and Yvette bourque and so forth .

03:17.257 --> 03:19.910
We were all about the same age . Uh and

03:19.910 --> 03:22.860
we got we got looking at how the

03:22.860 --> 03:26.600
commercial sector provided product .

03:26.610 --> 03:29.330
So then I we learned and evolved into

03:29.330 --> 03:31.740
the subsistence prime vendor . Now he

03:31.740 --> 03:34.530
had May was upstairs working on medical

03:34.530 --> 03:36.752
prime vendor , I was downstairs working

03:36.752 --> 03:38.808
on subsistence prime vendor and that

03:38.808 --> 03:42.260
was the start of the the re engineering

03:42.440 --> 03:44.700
of the business processes that we up

03:44.700 --> 03:47.030
until this day , we continue with many ,

03:47.030 --> 03:49.450
many generations each time trying to

03:49.450 --> 03:52.330
continuously improve the product and

03:52.330 --> 03:54.700
solution for the war fighters . At

03:54.700 --> 03:56.850
first , in some situations , some

03:56.850 --> 03:59.960
employees felt threatened um , because

03:59.960 --> 04:02.430
the skills necessary to do prime vendor

04:02.430 --> 04:04.940
contracting were all knew . We were

04:04.940 --> 04:06.850
moving out from a transactional

04:06.850 --> 04:09.210
environment to one where we were trying

04:09.210 --> 04:12.670
to maximize the buying leverage of , of

04:12.670 --> 04:15.400
the agency . Uh , so we had to do a lot

04:15.410 --> 04:17.880
of training . We had to do a lot of

04:17.880 --> 04:21.660
changing of people's , uh , positions

04:21.670 --> 04:23.837
where we didn't need as many inventory

04:23.837 --> 04:26.059
managers because we weren't keeping the

04:26.059 --> 04:28.114
stock levels that we had before . It

04:28.114 --> 04:30.660
was a challenge to the workforce , but ,

04:30.670 --> 04:32.781
and , and it was also a big challenge

04:32.781 --> 04:34.614
to our customers because they're

04:34.614 --> 04:37.700
customers were familiar with going

04:37.700 --> 04:40.640
through a warehouse . Okay , let's say

04:40.650 --> 04:42.761
a warehouse or two . There's probably

04:42.761 --> 04:45.220
10 or 15 at fort Bragg and being able

04:45.220 --> 04:47.620
to see and touch the product and that

04:47.620 --> 04:50.580
gave them the assurance that there was

04:50.580 --> 04:52.820
gonna be chow in the morning or dinner

04:52.830 --> 04:55.330
and so forth . We were now asking trust

04:55.330 --> 04:58.450
us , trust us to deliver on time

04:58.460 --> 05:00.870
several times a week . Uh , and it's

05:00.870 --> 05:02.870
going to be fresher product . We're

05:02.870 --> 05:04.981
going to get better prices and you'll

05:04.981 --> 05:07.203
get more variety because we changed the

05:07.203 --> 05:09.314
menus and we started to look and work

05:09.314 --> 05:11.650
with companies like Cisco US Foods and

05:11.650 --> 05:13.761
those other big distributors that you

05:13.761 --> 05:15.650
probably are familiar with on the

05:15.650 --> 05:19.110
highway . Um , so , so that was a

05:19.120 --> 05:21.390
culture change and we don't do many

05:21.390 --> 05:24.430
service contracts . But if a customer

05:24.440 --> 05:26.800
wants to have the door installed or the

05:26.800 --> 05:29.740
carpet put down , we have an ability to

05:29.740 --> 05:31.796
do that within the frameworks of the

05:31.796 --> 05:34.880
contract , which was a big , big

05:34.890 --> 05:36.860
improvement in our service because

05:37.460 --> 05:39.760
initially we could provide the door ,

05:39.760 --> 05:41.927
we could provide the window , but then

05:41.927 --> 05:44.038
the customer would have to go out and

05:44.038 --> 05:46.580
find usually a local contractor come in

05:46.590 --> 05:48.757
and install them similar to what would

05:48.757 --> 05:51.020
happen in your household . So we were

05:51.020 --> 05:53.410
able to provide that value added

05:53.410 --> 05:56.800
service to um , to the program . And

05:56.800 --> 05:58.967
that , that , that that was a very big

05:58.967 --> 06:01.960
deal . In addition to to that

06:02.140 --> 06:04.390
we , we looked , we took the

06:04.390 --> 06:07.470
opportunity to re engineer the business

06:07.470 --> 06:11.260
process to include serge were

06:11.260 --> 06:14.380
readiness clauses and the ability to

06:14.390 --> 06:17.960
ramp up uh , if if if and when it was

06:17.960 --> 06:20.930
necessary . So that if we had a

06:20.930 --> 06:23.820
deployment of several 100,000 troops

06:23.820 --> 06:27.740
like we did in the centcom a or we were

06:27.740 --> 06:30.790
able to get our contractors up and

06:30.790 --> 06:33.100
running . And that is that can be

06:33.100 --> 06:34.989
challenging , particularly in our

06:34.989 --> 06:37.211
clothing and textile area where we have

06:37.211 --> 06:39.980
a very fragile industrial base . We buy

06:39.980 --> 06:42.850
everything domestically under the berry

06:42.850 --> 06:44.906
amendment , which means not only the

06:44.906 --> 06:48.000
raw material but the manufacturer . So

06:48.010 --> 06:51.520
the combat boots , the uniforms , Even

06:51.520 --> 06:53.560
the running shoes now are all

06:53.560 --> 06:57.310
manufactured 100% uh , domestic .

06:57.320 --> 07:00.030
And that's , that's a challenge because

07:00.040 --> 07:02.207
most of the apparel that you and I are

07:02.207 --> 07:04.610
wearing now is not made here . We are

07:04.610 --> 07:07.220
the largest domestic apparel buyer in

07:07.220 --> 07:09.370
the country . And we support many ,

07:09.370 --> 07:11.780
many small businesses , We support the

07:11.780 --> 07:13.613
National Institute for the blind

07:13.640 --> 07:16.610
ability one , the federal prisons and a

07:16.610 --> 07:18.554
whole slew of small businesses and

07:18.554 --> 07:20.666
large businesses in order to maintain

07:20.666 --> 07:22.832
that industrial base because it has to

07:22.832 --> 07:24.943
be there when you need it . You can't

07:24.943 --> 07:26.943
stop ordering , You gotta have that

07:26.943 --> 07:29.054
demand signal , you gotta have , it's

07:29.054 --> 07:31.221
got to be ready to be able to not only

07:31.221 --> 07:33.388
meet the day to day requirements , but

07:33.388 --> 07:35.277
to search . The other significant

07:35.277 --> 07:37.050
change that I I think is worth

07:37.050 --> 07:40.570
mentioning happened back uh , in

07:40.580 --> 07:43.800
um , in the 2000s when we were

07:43.800 --> 07:47.290
asked to put in place a prime vendor

07:47.300 --> 07:50.660
in uh , locations in centcom .

07:50.840 --> 07:53.560
Our model was based on getting the food

07:53.840 --> 07:56.620
uh , to uh certain locations , some

07:56.620 --> 07:59.990
large bases . And then the army who was

07:59.990 --> 08:02.640
the uh , the executive agent in the

08:02.640 --> 08:05.230
theater for food at the time would move

08:05.230 --> 08:09.140
it out to the , the basis . And that's ,

08:09.150 --> 08:11.372
that's how we structured our contract .

08:11.372 --> 08:13.483
Well , shortly after the award of one

08:13.483 --> 08:15.594
or more of those contracts , the army

08:15.594 --> 08:18.840
came to us and said , um , could

08:18.840 --> 08:22.490
you uh provide in country

08:22.500 --> 08:25.560
distribution and transportation ,

08:26.040 --> 08:28.262
meaning that it was previously going to

08:28.262 --> 08:31.440
be provided by uniformed personnel .

08:32.140 --> 08:34.251
We were then moved , we were asked to

08:34.251 --> 08:36.610
provide from four locations to what

08:36.610 --> 08:38.870
grew to be over 200 locations

08:38.880 --> 08:41.430
throughout the Middle East that we were

08:41.440 --> 08:43.940
providing products , what the

08:43.950 --> 08:46.400
department calls that is contractors on

08:46.400 --> 08:49.190
the battlefield and putting this where

08:49.190 --> 08:51.530
we would deliver in and we'd be done

08:51.530 --> 08:54.550
with the job . Now our job was extended

08:54.560 --> 08:56.950
to the battlefield and we had to look

08:56.960 --> 08:59.500
at models . We had to put contracts in

08:59.500 --> 09:01.730
place that would provide premium

09:01.730 --> 09:04.180
transportation . In some cases , some

09:04.180 --> 09:06.347
of the forward operating bases are not

09:06.347 --> 09:08.810
accessible by truck . So they would

09:08.810 --> 09:10.820
have to be brought brought in by

09:10.820 --> 09:14.350
helicopter or some other means . That

09:14.350 --> 09:16.572
meant we had to expand the scope of our

09:16.572 --> 09:18.600
contract to cover all the

09:18.600 --> 09:21.590
transportation and in many cases , uh

09:21.600 --> 09:23.640
we also , we also had to provide

09:23.650 --> 09:26.260
private security because these are

09:26.260 --> 09:28.850
trucks and vehicles over there are

09:28.860 --> 09:32.600
targets for , for the enemy . And

09:32.610 --> 09:36.120
we have lost not only a lot of trucks ,

09:36.130 --> 09:37.950
but many truck drivers and many

09:38.140 --> 09:41.140
associates out there contractors , um ,

09:41.150 --> 09:43.372
and delivering food in some very remote

09:43.372 --> 09:46.450
locations throughout Iraq Afghanistan

09:46.450 --> 09:48.672
and so forth . So that was , that was a

09:48.672 --> 09:51.780
significant change . And it required us

09:51.780 --> 09:55.310
to do a whole lot of of research , a

09:55.310 --> 09:57.740
whole lot of , of changes to some of

09:57.740 --> 09:59.970
our technology to be able to track that

09:59.970 --> 10:02.460
product from when it left the pier in

10:02.460 --> 10:05.310
California to where it made its final

10:05.310 --> 10:08.060
destination in , in bagram uh , in

10:08.060 --> 10:11.110
Afghanistan . So again , another set of

10:11.110 --> 10:14.080
skills that was required . We kind of

10:14.080 --> 10:17.900
broke away from this low price approach

10:17.900 --> 10:20.067
where , you know , the government just

10:20.067 --> 10:22.067
goes with the low bidder . We don't

10:22.067 --> 10:23.900
even do bids . We do request for

10:23.900 --> 10:25.733
proposals . Uh and they have the

10:25.733 --> 10:28.310
flexibility now we can still go uh out

10:28.310 --> 10:30.254
with a strategy to use low price ,

10:30.254 --> 10:33.540
technically acceptable where uh the

10:33.540 --> 10:35.429
competition has to meet a certain

10:35.429 --> 10:37.373
standard and then we shift over to

10:37.373 --> 10:39.707
looking at price proposals . But we are ,

10:39.707 --> 10:41.873
we're very big here on the use of best

10:41.873 --> 10:44.360
value acquisition , long term

10:44.440 --> 10:47.040
acquisition . We haven't um very strong

10:47.040 --> 10:49.820
partnership with Transcom who was the

10:49.830 --> 10:52.670
transportation uh distribution owner

10:52.670 --> 10:54.980
within the department . So they write

10:54.980 --> 10:57.147
the contracts for the carriers . So we

10:57.147 --> 10:59.640
had to merge a lot of that and become

10:59.640 --> 11:02.000
even closer partners with Transcom to

11:02.000 --> 11:04.560
move that product around the world .

11:07.340 --> 11:11.100
One of the other accomplishments that

11:11.100 --> 11:13.830
I'm very proud of being part of the

11:13.830 --> 11:15.960
allied troops support has been our

11:15.970 --> 11:18.870
ability to respond time and time again

11:18.880 --> 11:22.110
to humanitarian disasters . Uh in

11:22.110 --> 11:25.830
particular , hurricane over the

11:25.830 --> 11:27.930
last 10 years have been a number of

11:27.930 --> 11:31.220
hurricane Maria Ivan . Uh After a while ,

11:31.230 --> 11:34.750
we just kind of blur . But uh in

11:34.750 --> 11:37.140
particular , um what sticks out to me

11:37.140 --> 11:41.000
is uh we we were assisting the city

11:41.000 --> 11:44.060
of new york and restoring power after

11:44.060 --> 11:46.190
the terrible hurricane up there . We

11:46.190 --> 11:48.190
had one of our cap , you know , six

11:48.190 --> 11:51.020
Captain Navy Captain journeyed up there

11:51.030 --> 11:54.180
at night to help work with the

11:54.180 --> 11:56.620
contractor to get the power back on .

11:56.630 --> 11:58.750
And what what that takes is getting

11:58.760 --> 12:01.230
portable generators into those

12:01.230 --> 12:03.830
locations to keep the power on for

12:03.830 --> 12:06.660
critical locations like hospitals ,

12:06.840 --> 12:09.030
large apartment buildings , nursing

12:09.030 --> 12:12.790
homes . We deployed people up to

12:12.790 --> 12:16.430
help start building the power grid back

12:16.430 --> 12:18.870
in new york throughout New Jersey into

12:18.870 --> 12:22.650
New york city . And the , the other big

12:22.660 --> 12:24.660
support mission we had was when the

12:24.660 --> 12:27.250
terrible hurricane hit Puerto rico and

12:27.250 --> 12:29.620
the power grid in Puerto rico was

12:29.620 --> 12:33.120
basically wiped out . Um , and

12:33.120 --> 12:36.760
everybody was looking for generators .

12:36.770 --> 12:40.770
Um , and that's really um , we had some

12:40.770 --> 12:42.820
other efforts , but really when we

12:42.830 --> 12:45.660
cemented our relationship with fema and

12:45.660 --> 12:48.220
fema , the federal Emergency Management

12:48.230 --> 12:50.930
Agency , you'll see them on the news ,

12:50.930 --> 12:53.041
they're on , they're on the ground as

12:53.041 --> 12:55.263
soon as the disaster occurs . Well , we

12:55.263 --> 12:57.374
see for every one of these hurricanes

12:57.374 --> 12:59.486
over the last 15 , 20 years , we have

12:59.486 --> 13:02.980
supported fema with , with operational

13:02.980 --> 13:05.380
rations . Uh , it's a little different

13:05.380 --> 13:07.380
than what we provide the military .

13:07.380 --> 13:09.324
It's a commercial ration , bottled

13:09.324 --> 13:12.120
water is another big one tense or , or

13:12.130 --> 13:14.530
or another big area and then all the

13:14.530 --> 13:16.641
equipment that was necessary to bring

13:16.641 --> 13:19.050
that grid back in Puerto rico . I

13:19.050 --> 13:21.720
remember uh , several months after the

13:21.730 --> 13:25.540
hurricane hit that I , I took a

13:25.540 --> 13:28.240
trip down to Puerto rico to view it .

13:28.250 --> 13:31.110
Um , not only to support the population ,

13:31.110 --> 13:33.550
but many of our clothing and textile

13:33.550 --> 13:37.240
vendors are based in Puerto rico making

13:37.240 --> 13:39.470
our uniforms . It's a , it's a very

13:39.470 --> 13:41.600
important location for us for the

13:41.600 --> 13:44.430
manufacturer of , of our uniforms . So

13:44.430 --> 13:47.570
when the power went out , they stopped

13:47.570 --> 13:49.760
making uniforms and there was a

13:49.760 --> 13:53.080
scramble on to provide generators uh ,

13:53.090 --> 13:55.680
in rebuilding the power grid . It

13:55.680 --> 13:57.970
wasn't just a matter of getting

13:57.970 --> 14:01.060
generators . Uh , we brought in the

14:01.060 --> 14:03.830
actual telephone poles and all the

14:03.830 --> 14:06.300
wiring to rebuild that grid and each

14:06.300 --> 14:09.030
day we would see x amount more power

14:09.030 --> 14:10.919
was being provided throughout the

14:10.919 --> 14:14.630
island . Operation warp speed

14:14.630 --> 14:17.680
stood up . Former commander here ,

14:17.690 --> 14:21.430
General Purna uh ran

14:21.440 --> 14:25.000
Operation warp speed . Uh , and uh , so

14:25.000 --> 14:27.320
we knew this was getting serious and we

14:27.320 --> 14:29.542
knew we needed to start to come up with

14:29.542 --> 14:32.400
some very innovative ways to support ,

14:32.410 --> 14:35.970
um , the challenges with Covid is that

14:35.980 --> 14:39.250
de Ellas . Um , uh , initial , the

14:39.250 --> 14:42.180
primary role was the supply of PPE

14:42.190 --> 14:44.870
personal protective equipment gloves ,

14:44.880 --> 14:48.220
nitrile gloves , Gowns , mask

14:48.230 --> 14:51.390
goggles , those types of items . Uh ,

14:51.400 --> 14:53.580
well , what has happened over the last

14:53.590 --> 14:57.010
30 years or so is

14:57.010 --> 14:59.360
that most of the production of those

14:59.370 --> 15:02.410
types of items has moved offshore and

15:02.410 --> 15:06.130
it's moved to places like Vietnam china

15:06.140 --> 15:09.760
and Malaysia for market reasons , the

15:09.770 --> 15:13.430
price , primarily the price of labor is

15:13.430 --> 15:16.860
a lot less than it is here . Uh , So

15:16.860 --> 15:19.840
when the hospital chains and the group

15:19.840 --> 15:22.680
purchasing organizations are looking to

15:22.680 --> 15:24.820
control health care costs , they're

15:24.820 --> 15:26.987
gonna look to someplace that one meets

15:26.987 --> 15:29.264
the standards , but also provides them ,

15:29.264 --> 15:31.610
uh , at the lowest possible price .

15:31.620 --> 15:35.120
Well , that's fine . Uh , but the , but

15:35.120 --> 15:37.490
the problem comes that that that off

15:37.490 --> 15:40.060
shore's a lot of our manufacturing

15:40.060 --> 15:42.570
capability . And that's what we were up

15:42.570 --> 15:45.440
against . So , um we

15:45.450 --> 15:48.700
uh we we we work closely with the

15:48.700 --> 15:50.867
office of the Secretary of Defense and

15:50.867 --> 15:53.033
D . L . A . Headquarters in developing

15:53.033 --> 15:54.922
acquisition strategies that would

15:54.922 --> 15:58.230
target uh domestic companies to make

15:58.230 --> 16:00.960
investments and to stand up uh

16:00.970 --> 16:02.970
facilities that would produce those

16:02.970 --> 16:05.192
items here . We couldn't get everything

16:05.192 --> 16:07.220
here made here , but we did pretty

16:07.230 --> 16:09.490
pretty well and establishing a lot of

16:09.490 --> 16:12.190
small businesses who put people to work

16:12.200 --> 16:14.120
and started producing . These are

16:14.120 --> 16:16.231
challenge right now that I'm involved

16:16.231 --> 16:19.120
with it with uh , OsD is how do we

16:19.120 --> 16:21.470
sustain that now ? How do we keep

16:21.480 --> 16:25.160
american companies producing PPE So

16:25.160 --> 16:27.610
that the next crisis , we don't have to

16:27.610 --> 16:30.710
go offshore . It's it's similar to a

16:30.710 --> 16:32.766
lot of the national discussions that

16:32.766 --> 16:36.500
you hear about pharmaceuticals . Most

16:36.500 --> 16:38.667
of pharmaceuticals that you and I take

16:38.667 --> 16:42.070
are produced in china and India .

16:42.240 --> 16:46.080
Uh we all want to get . Um and uh

16:46.090 --> 16:48.080
we all all expect to get the best

16:48.080 --> 16:50.136
possible price for pharmaceuticals ,

16:50.136 --> 16:52.247
whether it's for our health plans and

16:52.247 --> 16:54.930
so forth . Well , if you look at that

16:54.930 --> 16:58.510
marketplace again , once in a domestic

16:58.510 --> 17:01.480
item , uh which we would call a brand

17:01.480 --> 17:04.340
name item once it comes off Patton ,

17:04.350 --> 17:07.650
that manufacturing moves offshore . So

17:07.660 --> 17:11.200
your $60 , uh

17:11.210 --> 17:14.620
brand name pharmaceutical , then once a

17:14.620 --> 17:16.842
month later , you're saying even peaked

17:16.842 --> 17:19.610
$5 for that 30 day prescription . Well ,

17:19.620 --> 17:22.000
the downside of that is that the us has

17:22.000 --> 17:25.030
lost a lot of its manufacturing and

17:25.030 --> 17:27.900
pharmaceuticals is one of the major

17:27.900 --> 17:29.420
areas that the the current

17:29.420 --> 17:31.430
administration is looking at to see

17:31.440 --> 17:33.930
what will it take to bring back .

17:33.940 --> 17:36.162
There's two parts of it . It's it's not

17:36.162 --> 17:38.273
only pharmaceuticals but it's what we

17:38.273 --> 17:40.384
call the active product ingredients ,

17:40.384 --> 17:42.329
the ingredients that make up those

17:42.329 --> 17:44.384
pharmaceuticals right now . Uh There

17:44.384 --> 17:46.820
isn't a company in the United States

17:46.820 --> 17:49.180
that produce penicillin . It all comes

17:49.180 --> 17:51.970
offshore . Can you imagine if we were

17:51.970 --> 17:54.990
shut off penicillin to the millions of

17:54.990 --> 17:58.250
people here ? It's dangerous . Uh And

17:58.260 --> 18:01.070
it exposes a weakness in our in our in

18:01.080 --> 18:03.080
our supply chain . So were a lot of

18:03.080 --> 18:05.191
efforts underway in the department to

18:05.191 --> 18:08.290
look at domestic manufacturing PPE .

18:08.300 --> 18:11.450
And pharmaceuticals so that we can be

18:11.450 --> 18:13.672
self sufficient . I was just looking at

18:13.672 --> 18:16.060
the numbers And since the beginning of

18:16.070 --> 18:19.820
Covid we have we have spent

18:19.830 --> 18:23.680
over $2 billion in support of covid

18:23.680 --> 18:26.430
activities , both for whole government .

18:26.430 --> 18:28.597
We call it the other civilian agencies

18:28.597 --> 18:31.270
and and the military . It's been a huge

18:31.280 --> 18:33.750
effort . It's taken a total team effort

18:33.760 --> 18:37.680
of people working 24 7 . We worked a

18:37.680 --> 18:40.460
lot of overtime . We spend our weekends

18:40.470 --> 18:43.900
on the phone and what I'm

18:43.910 --> 18:46.390
most proud of is that we did it under

18:46.390 --> 18:49.330
conditions where we had to adapt , use

18:49.330 --> 18:53.060
technology teams elect uh

18:53.070 --> 18:55.460
and being able to conduct meetings

18:55.470 --> 18:58.570
electronically uh Where that that that

18:58.580 --> 19:00.800
that that was a challenge . At first

19:00.810 --> 19:02.921
everybody took their computers home .

19:02.921 --> 19:04.977
We've been doing telework for a long

19:04.977 --> 19:07.088
time , but not to the magnitude where

19:07.088 --> 19:09.143
we've had to , you know , set up the

19:09.143 --> 19:11.310
teams with customers in europe or some

19:11.310 --> 19:15.300
other place around the world . I

19:15.300 --> 19:19.110
consider myself a patriot and and a

19:19.120 --> 19:21.630
long term supporter of the D . O . D .

19:21.630 --> 19:25.260
Mission . The work is interesting . Um

19:25.270 --> 19:29.210
I um wow , I always

19:29.210 --> 19:33.060
think about a couple of things if I

19:33.060 --> 19:35.171
could be personal here for a moment .

19:35.171 --> 19:38.770
But my uncle on my mother's side ,

19:39.140 --> 19:42.990
it was a combat engineer and went

19:43.000 --> 19:46.960
into uh when in on D Day

19:46.970 --> 19:50.970
uh and managed to survive

19:50.980 --> 19:54.250
some of the initial uh beach

19:54.260 --> 19:57.950
uh engagements that took place .

19:58.420 --> 20:01.100
So that's a special thing that I think

20:01.100 --> 20:03.930
about with my uncle being involved with

20:03.930 --> 20:05.986
D Day . I happened to be a big World

20:05.986 --> 20:09.340
War two , um historian , historian ,

20:09.350 --> 20:13.080
uh My dad was in the navy , served

20:13.080 --> 20:16.770
in World War Two out in the pacific and

20:16.770 --> 20:18.603
then I had another uncle who was

20:18.603 --> 20:20.770
involved in World War One and another

20:20.770 --> 20:23.980
uncle who was in Vietnam . So um

20:23.990 --> 20:27.200
uh they I think our family has a long

20:27.200 --> 20:30.100
history of of of service to the country

20:30.100 --> 20:32.630
and of that I felt that I'm doing my

20:32.630 --> 20:35.120
share here of of of of service to our

20:35.120 --> 20:37.380
country . And I I believe in the

20:37.380 --> 20:39.170
mission . I believe in D . L . AA