Building lasting relationships key to success for forward presence personnel

COLUMBUS, Ohio -

Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime forward presence associates from as far away as Japan, gathered at Defense Supply Center Columbus to learn about new tools, solve problems and build relationships during the annual Maritime Customer Operations "Homecoming" training event Sept. 16-20.

"I think that this is one of the most important things that we do," said DLA Land and Maritime Commander, Army Brig. Gen. Gail Atkins, noting that providing an in-person forum to exchange information and ideas is critical to how the Agency supports its mission partners daily.

"You can't get the same deep, meaningful conversations virtually," she said. "The ability to break bread together, dig into some deeper topics…that matters."

DLA Maritime Customer Operations forward presence teams work directly with Navy customers to solve supply chain issues, provide tools to improve readiness and advise unit commanders and staffs on opportunities to leverage DLA capabilities.

Atkins said it is important for forward personnel to come back to Columbus to gain a broader agency perspective, but it is equally critical to get information from the military customer's viewpoint.

DLA Maritime Customer Operations Director Navy Capt. Scott Wallace agreed.

"What you are doing at the fleet concentration areas - interfacing with the customer and directly supporting them daily - is very important, as it provides a lot of information back here [in Columbus] as we try to make things better," he said.

DLA Maritime Customer Operations' forward-facing personnel gained insights into the Agency's strategy and priorities, explored new methods and processes and learned about workforce cultural initiatives. Other key topics included DLA's new strategic plan and a directorate-led Back to Basics initiative.

Atkins said the DLA 2025-2030 Strategic Plan addresses the pressures the military services are facing in this era of integrated deterrence and explained how it will directly affect the group's work with their naval customers moving forward.

"The plan is about a sense of urgency on the part of the Agency to match the urgency of our customers and what they are facing," she said. "This is a significant shift from how we have been operationalizing in support of our mission partners."

Wallace told the group what has changed is the way the Agency is looking at the world and the understanding that "we collectively have to be prepared to support the warfighter in this ever changing and complex threat environment."

DLA Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson further emphasized the Navy's subsurface and surface fleets are key to holding the line against America's adversaries.

"Increasing [Maritime] readiness is important not just for DLA or the Navy, but important for the nation," he said.

Back to Basics is a three-pronged approach aimed at improving internal operations to better serve the warfighting customer, said Deanna Blesch, deputy director of DLA Maritime Customer Operations.

The first tenet focuses on people and their relationship to the Agency's mission, tying everyone within the directorate back to DLA Land and Maritime's roots at DSCC, she said.

"With so many newer associates, we thought it was important for them to have a good understanding of the rich history of the DSCC installation," Blesch explained. "We want to help them see what they are a part of and how they can make a difference serving their country through our mission of supporting the warfighter."

Blesch said the second piece is focused on transactional basics, noting a return to the basic principles they operated under in the past, while encouraging associates to be innovative and creative as process improvements are implemented to address ever-changing customer challenges.

"And the third component is tied to our people and culture, with the goal of offering our associates opportunities to engage and interact in meaningful ways beyond the mission," she said.

Communication, collaboration and relationship building rounded out the week, with the group participating in problem-solving sessions, collaborative discussions within their teams and various off-site networking activities to further build camaraderie.

"Getting to know each other by coming here is invaluable," said Ahmad Ibrahim, a liaison officer who supports the Naval Sea Systems Command at the Washington Navy Yard. "Now I'm armed with a network I can reach out to if I have an issue to see if they are seeing the same thing at other locations."

Fellow forward presence associate Willie Strickland agreed.

"It gave us an opportunity to be able to have deep meaningful discussions about the different processes and experiences that we have out in the different areas," said Strickland, a customer logistics site specialist who supports the Navy Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan.

Bill Kennedy, who is new to the customer-facing cadre but not new to DLA, said the week armed him with a network he can leverage when needed.

"It's nice to know that when we reach back to headquarters, there is this big support structure here of people that are knowledgeable in all parts of the supply chain," said Kennedy, a customer logistics site specialist based at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

"Everyone is here to support each other even though we are located many miles apart," he added.

Atkins stressed that communication is key to ensuring readiness among DLA's mission partners and encouraged the group to not let the networking component of the week stop when they walk out the door.

"It is very important that this network continues to be strengthened moving forward," she said.

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