An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

News | June 29, 2021

Energy East Pacific changes command

By Irene Smith

“Aloha, Mahalo and God Bless.” In an age-old Navy tradition, punctuated with boatswain pipe and bell, Navy Cmdr. Eric Lockett bid farewell to the Defense Logistics Agency Energy East Pacific command June 11.

Lockett relinquished command to Navy Cmdr. William Jakubowicz who previously served as the assistant officer in charge of Naval Petroleum Office, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The DLA Indo-Pacific Commander Navy Capt. Jason Adams presided over the leadership transition. 

“It has been a distinct honor and a true privilege to work with this team of professionals,” Lockett said. “In the East Pacific region, we have a small team of professionals who I consider to be ‘forensic logisticians’ that have a huge responsibility of assuring seamless petroleum logistics.”

As the commander of DLA Energy East Pacific region and the interim DLA Energy Indo-Pacific region integrator from March 2018 through June 2021, Lockett oversaw the operations of 10 Defense Fuel Supply Points, sustaining 336 million gallons of joint strategic fuel requirements, valued over $500 million, across the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.

Lockett received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for his efforts in advancing the lethality of the Joint Force Component Commands by demonstrating innovative bulk product distribution methods that galvanized theater resiliency, moving the customer fill rate needle from 48% to 100%. He has orders to Millington, Tennessee, to be a part of the Navy Personnel Command.

Lockett’s change of command was unique to many of his friends and family thanks to remote viewing.

“I have friends and family viewing today’s event who’ve never attended a ceremony in my honor throughout my entire military career,” he said. “With technology, we’re able to connect and bring the ceremony to them in ways that we couldn’t in the past.”  

Jakubowicz thanked Lockett for his tenure and said he is honored to join the East Pacific team.

“Over the last week, I’ve seen your dedication to ensuring the reliability of the petroleum supply chain and commitment to supporting our customer requirements, you really are the representation of Warfighter Always, and it shows,” he told them. “It’s an honor and a privilege for me to be here today, to take on the responsibility as Commander, DLA Energy East Pacific, and join the DLA team.”

The Indo-Pacific region is DLA Energy’s largest geographical fuel region. The region provides support to every military agency in the INDOPACOM and to a host of foreign countries.