External partnership could be ‘vital’ to DLA Aviation success in Richmond

Richmond, Va. -

RICHMOND, Va. - Defense Supply Center Richmond, the home of Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, hosted the inaugural advisory board meeting for a new, community-led alliance supporting military installations and missions Oct. 10 at the center's historic Bellwood Manor House.

The Capitol Region Military Alliance of Virginia, or CaRMA-VA, officially launched July 11, having been chartered earlier in the year with a mission to "actively facilitate community and government support to sustain and enhance current military missions, pursue future missions, and promote the region's contributions to national defense."

DSCR is one of three military installations in the area - along with the Army's Fort Gregg-Adams and Fort Barfoot - that CaRMA-VA supports most directly, said Becky McDonough, CEO of the Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce and a leading charter member of the alliance.

McDonough said the alliance is designed to get "industry, academia, local governments and the military to work together, effectively creating one community," adding that she envisions this community as "the engine that strengthens our national defense, grows our economy, invests in human capital, builds infrastructure and enhances overall quality of life."

Brian Anderson, president and chief executive officer of ChamberRVA, said he believes CaRMA-VA will increase visibility of the multi-billion economic impact the vast defense industry makes in the region.

"The Capitol Region is fortunate to have three important military installations located in it along with the tens of thousands of military personnel," he said. "CaRMA-VA can and will elevate the awareness of all regional stakeholders the importance of these installations in achieving their missions, the billions of dollars of combined economic impact, and the talent pipeline that retiring and exiting military men and women from these installations can add to the regional economy. The economic and talent impact of these installations should not be underestimated."

According to retired Army Col. Mike Flanagan, the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Southern Virginia and another leading CaRMA-VA charter member, high attendance at the alliance's July 11 launch event spoke to the level of support for the new venture.

"I think what surprised all of us when we put out the invitation to regional stakeholders for our first open meeting was that we thought we'd get 50," Flanagan said. "We had 150, and so that validated the interest across government, business and a lot of different stakeholders in what CaRMA-VA seeks to do for the region."

Although intentionally a smaller and more focused group, the diversity of attendees at the most recent advisory board meeting similarly illustrated the breadth of support garnered by CaRMA-VA. The attendance roster included 20 top leaders and representatives from local municipalities, chambers of commerce, industry partners and the military installations, themselves.

Flanagan led the group in a series of conversations geared toward identifying the specific needs of the installations, military commands, service members, veterans, DoD employees and family members in the area. Most importantly, he said, was brainstorming how to best develop the solutions to meet those needs - whether in the form of new partnerships, federal grants or other innovative approaches.

One of the notions raised during the meeting that garnered universal agreement was a need for increased awareness of the regional military presence in central Virginia, including the myriad defense missions and the collective multi-billion-dollar impact to regional economies.

Stephen Baker, chief of public affairs for both DLA Aviation and DSCR, shared with attendees that increased awareness would help DLA to recruit more new employees from the local area.

"Our agency recently published its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, which takes a resiliency-based approach toward meeting the challenges of supporting our warfighters in a contested logistics environment," Baker said. "Having a ready, responsive, and properly staffed and capable workforce is vital to ensure our own resiliency and ability to provide that support - the more people know about us, the larger our new talent pool grows."

Flanagan indicated that stakeholders would find alignment with CaRMA-VA in that regard.

"Readiness and resiliency are at the core of the CaRMA-VA mission," Flanagan said. "We realize in the community that we're interdependent - a resilient installation is a resilient community. And the more resilient an installation is, the more likely it becomes that DoD will expand the missions there. We want to see the mission grow at DSCR."

Beyond the connections with communities, businesses and local governments, DSCR Site Director David Gibson has found appreciation for the opportunities CaRMA-VA presents to link more closely with the two nearest Army posts, Fort Gregg-Adams and Fort Barfoot.

"Through CaRMA-VA, we have structure across lines where we typically might not work closely together, if we were just focused on our individual missions," Gibson said. "I think the three of us, combined, are sharing ideas on things we can do for not only the mutual benefit of our installations, but also for the region as a whole."

Reflecting on DSCR's numerous existing ties to local communities and current involvement with CaRMA-VA, Gibson added: "Building these connections with the community and our partners is vital. When we take an outward look beyond our fence line, and our neighbors get an inward look, I think on both sides of the fence we get a better appreciation for each other and the important work done here every day."

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