DLA director hosts town hall, discusses future initiatives at former command

Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support welcomed former commander, now DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, and DLA Senior Enlisted Leader Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Alvin Dyer for a town hall and review of the 2025 Annual Operating Plan Nov. 25.

Simerly expressed his gratitude for the major subordinate command's continued dedication to the warfighter.

"I've always looked back very fondly on my two years [at Troop Support]," Simerly said. "I still continue to appreciate the way you all adapt, the way that you face the challenges and the way that you continue to provide excellence globally to warfighters."

Simerly described how Troop Support's legacy fits within the context of the current contested logistics environment.

"Troop Support has existed basically since the 1800 Schuylkill Arsenal [and] you all have been doing this work for a very long time," Simerly said. "One of the things that I admire about Troop Support is how you all have adapted over time to change through conflict after conflict."

During the town hall, Simerly recognized individuals for their hard work and dedication to the Troop Support mission.
"There is nothing like an opportunity to recognize excellence," Simerly said. "I know the [awardees] are representative of you, the things that you do, [and] the passion you have for supporting the warfighter, that we see day in and day out."

Simerly introduced the 2025-2030 DLA Strategic Plan, "DLA Transforms: A Call to Action," and explained the importance of Troop Support's supply chains.

"The key phrase in [our mission statement] is combat support," Simerly said. "We're a combat support agency, so we should prioritize those things that support our warfighters and the execution of their combat mission. "[Adversaries] realize that by attacking logistics, contesting logistics, they can limit our ability to sustain our warfighters."

He also called upon Troop Support's workforce to embrace change and overcome potential challenges through innovation.

"What has been our strength could become our weakness if we don't take action now to do things differently-to think, act and operate differently, Simerly said.

Simerly emphasized as the character of war changes, so will demands on DLA's supply chain logistics.

"[Develop] active ways to generate greater readiness and resilience throughout our supply chains and operate at the speed of war so that we can achieve decision advantage over our adversaries as they try to deny us the means to communicate, to plan and collaborate," Simerly said.

During the town hall, DLA Troop Support Commander Army Gen. Landis Maddox joined Simerly and Dyer on stage for a question-and-answer session.

When asked by an audience member about expanding leadership training to include nonsupervisory staff, Maddox took the opportunity to explain.

"We actually just had an opportunity to discuss this," Maddox said. "The program is going to expand with the thought of it being a 'train the trainer' concept so that we internally in Troop [Support] can train our own folks. That's coming and I was really excited when J1 [Human Resources] briefed on [the new training program]."

Simerly spent the afternoon meeting with Troop Support leadership to discuss the DLA Troop Support fiscal 2025 Annual Operating Plan alignment within the 2025-2030 DLA Strategic Plan.

DLA Troop Support's complete fiscal 2025 Annual Operating Plan will be finalized and shared with the workforce.