DLA Energy Program Management Office: On the move

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy Acquisition Support Division Program Management Office in collaboration with the Commander Action Group's Defense Travel Services manager conducted an Indo-Pacific Staff Assistance Visit in Okinawa, Japan. The five-day visit was a joint training and regional immersions event that included Government Purchase Card program participants, Government Travel Charge Card cardholders and program coordinators, DTS approvers, Energy contracting officer representatives, and staff members from DLA Energy Okinawa, Korea, Guam, Yokota, and Hawaii.

The week's agenda began with an opening session with the Okinawa commanders at the Chibana location, where DLA Energy Chief of Acquisition Support Angela Jones led the discussion and opened with a statement of appreciation from the DLA Energy Head of Contracting Activity Gabriella Earhardt.

The opening session laid the foundation for the week's activities and created an opportunity for the commanders to meet the PMO team and to receive a comprehensive overview and analysis of the Okinawa team's success over the past 18 months. Command leadership also provided an overview of the PMO, GPC, and GTCC program structures, creating an opportunity for them to gain a broader understanding of the overarching program policies and procedures that drive and sustain program compliance and auditability.

DLA Energy DTS Manager Mark Albright provided an overview of the DTS office structure and outlined his goals for the week. Next, DLA Energy Okinawa Commander Air Force Maj Knutson and DLA Energy Okinawa Deputy Director William Davenport provided the team an immersions overview of their team's mission, challenges, and future requirements to foster a better understanding of their operational needs and how the PMO can support the mission.

The site visit focused on specialized training sessions for GPC, GTCC, and DTS that was conducted in person and virtually. The interactive training sessions, live demos, and jeopardy-like knowledge check competition led to in-depth and innovative joint discussions, cross-org knowledge sharing, and the sharing of many best practices. As part of the cross-org knowledge sharing, each regional office was given an opportunity to provide an immersions brief about their mission, structure, challenges and future needs and opportunities.

The focal point of the regional immersion briefs was to ensure the PMO was well-equipped with the knowledge and operational understanding going forward to provide top-tier support and advocacy requirements for their operational business. Jones recognized Vivian Kim (Hawaii), Lavell Anderson (Korea), Khoa Nguyen, Timothy Livingston (Guam) and Michael Meacham (Yokota) for their outstand presentations in support of the week's training event.

Knutson and Davenport conducted a facilities immersions tour to discuss the mission, challenges, and future needs at Oceanic Terminal Station and Naval Base White Beach, in Uruma, Japan. The presenters described their overall mission, the equipment on hand, and in some cases, challenges presented during inclement weather as well as how card programs were used to support their day-to-day missions.

The site visit concluded with an out-brief with all Indo-Pacific commanders where Jones discussed the week's events, interactive engagements and cross organizational collaboration, reiterating the "teamwork makes the dream work" mantra. Feedback from the Okinawa commanders and Indo-Pacific attendees solidified the week's success.

The PMO's next SAV is scheduled for October 2024 with DLA Energy Middle East.