DLA Land and Maritime leaders gather to discuss FY25 strategies, priorities

About 30 leaders from Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime gathered at the Byus Community Center on Defense Supply Center Columbus Aug. 6, to discuss plans and priorities ahead of a new operating plan for fiscal year 2025.

DLA Land and Maritime Commander Brig. Gen. Gail Atkins, Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson and Director of Operations Chrissy Schall opened the discussion highlighting the agency's strategic shift with a focus on the four Ps - People, Precision, Posture and Partnerships - outlined in a recently published paper by DLA Director Mark Simerly titled The Defense Logistics Agency' s Role in Overcoming the Challenges of Contested Logistics[available online to Common Access Card holders].

"How do we map these four Ps and what are the objectives within [DLA] Land and Maritime's mission set that's going to drive us there - now in 2024 through 2029," Atkins said. "It's right there in the middle - people. Precision can't happen, posturing will not succeed, and you cannot partner if you don't have people. With that, we need to figure out how we are going to optimize human capital resources."

Atkins emphasized the importance of leaders communicating this shift to the workforce and continuing to communicate with each other.

"I want you to think through not just how we come up with objectives and tasks," she said. "But think about how you're going to ensure these are things that can be pushed down throughout all your teams, can be messaged both laterally out, and sometimes more importantly, educated up."

Discussions centered on achieving sustainable productivity, driving data acumen, value optimizing people and culture, evolving partnerships and the need for transformation to build resiliency in a contested logistics environment.

Watson emphasized the demand for urgency in an era of transformation.

"DLA is not taking a back seat. We are going to integrate, and we are going to lead," he said. "We aren't going to apologize for our place in supporting the warfighter. There is a sense of urgency in what we do. And if we don't share that with our teams, then we've missed the mark."

Attendees participated in small breakouts to discuss various objectives, including high-level tasks and relationships needed to achieve objectives, and appropriate ways to measure outputs and effectiveness. Work will continue through the rest of the fiscal year to finalize the organization's annual operating plan due out later this fall.