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DLA holds STAR summit at Tinker

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  • By Kimberly Woodruff
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Last week the Defense Logistics Agency hosted a Total Retail Sustainment Review summit here at Tinker Air Force Base.

Forty-five people from across the Defense Logistics Agency attended the summit. Participants included personnel from DLA Headquarters, DLA Process Owners, the Primary Level Field Activities and commanders from the DLA Industrial Support Activities which have a direct impact on retail industrial operations.

"This has been the first time we've ever done that," said Navy Capt. Ron Carr, Retail Operations Division chief from Fort Belvoir, Va. "In the past, we have dealt with each issue individually talking to Air Force or Navy, but never bringing the enterprise together in one room to talk in a broader sense of how we should be doing retail industrial operations."

The purpose of the STAR summit was to discuss the overall DLA policy and execution of supply, storage and distribution operations for retail support of military services in accordance with Base Realignment and Closure 2005 law. Another goal was to refine DLA's existing distribution, planning, order fulfillment, procurement, and technical/quality processes to achieve End-to-End retail supply chain integration in accordance with the DLA 2015-22 Strategic Plan.

"DLA has done very well at wholesale for the last 50 years -- better than anyone in the world to include commercial business," said Jeff Curtis, executive director of J3 Support from Fort Belvoir. "We've only done retail for six years and we've made tremendous strides, it is something to be proud of, though we still have a lot more to do."

Pre-BRAC, DLA supported customers using a wholesale inventory environment with  billions of dollars in inventory; post-BRAC brought to DLA a retail inventory environment directly supporting the end user at the services' maintenance depots.
Mr. Curtis said partnering with Tinker has been enhanced by the fact that Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex Commander Brig. Gen. Mark Johnson was working at DLA seven months ago.

"I don't think there is anyone who can appreciate both sides to the degree that General Johnson does," he said.

The general said the OC-ALC relies on DLA for its tactical level (retail) supply support and could not meet its production targets without them. 

He said DLA has demonstrated its commitment to its role in the retail supply business by publishing a new Retail Supply Manual that documents the responsibility and authorities that the local DLA aviation team has available to them to meet the OC-ALC's needs.

"We can now roll those authorities and responsibilities into our Depot Maintenance Manual and codify the processes that DLA uses to support us," General Johnson said. "I appreciate the investment DLA has made in the retail supply business and them coming to Tinker AFB and the OC-ALC for their meeting."

Mr. Curtis said DLA needs to continue working to integrate wholesale and retail and make sure to never, under any circumstances, think retail is an extension of wholesale.

"It's important and we could easily have multimillion dollar components held up for want of an inexpensive part and that just shouldn't happen," Mr. Curtis said. "That's a big part of why we're here today, to work on finding ways to ensure that folks at the retail level have everything they need when they need it."

Col. Ken Ruthardt, commander of DLA Aviation at Oklahoma City, said his unit had an opportunity to highlight retail operations supporting OC-ALC and the partnership DLA has with its customers since the summit was held here at Tinker.

"The intent is to make sure DLA is providing retail supply support to industrial operations based on each Service's needs," Colonel Ruthardt said. "Under DLA Aviation, we have six sites stood up: three Air Force and three Navy."

"Based on the success we have seen with the Air Force and Navy, the Marine Corps and Army have begun a dialogue with us and we have started building a partnership to assess how best DLA can offer value to their respective six industrial activities, not to mention the four Naval shipyards that DLA also supports," said Captain Carr.

Mr. Curtis said there is a ways to go, but by gathering customers and suppliers together, everyone had a chance to offer their opinions and suggestions.