NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –
Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Expeditionary participated in the Agency Contingency Operation Readiness Exercise, targeted at mobile and rapid deployment capabilities, simultaneously across different geographic sites from July 24 - 28.
One part of the DDXX team was located at DLA Distribution Norfolk, Virginia, while DLA Rapid Deployment Teams were in position at Battle Creek, Michigan. Part of the exercise dealt with testing the expeditionary team’s ability to communicate material processing over distance, simulating the process of receiving and processing material for commanders and whole of government partners anywhere in the world.
“This exercise replicates one of our expeditionary team’s core competencies, which is maintaining a material processing center,” said John Heikkinen, DLA Distribution operations and planning specialist.
The timing of the arrival of DDXX coincided with a surge at DDNV as Navy ships were returning to port. This allowed the team to not only participate in the exercise, but to also assist with the increased workload, ensuring no disruption to the warfighter.
On top of that, floods and power outages were affecting DDNV operations during the exercise time frame, but due to the presence and capabilities of DDXX, there was no disruption to the mission at DDNV.
“It’s a very experienced team of distribution process workers,” said Heikkinen. “These are all deployable folks. They can actually deploy into combat zones and assist with theater distribution requirements.”
DDXX is comprised of 98 total team members, split between DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pennsylvania and DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California.
The exercise allowed DLA and DLA Distribution to also leverage the Contingency Information Technology team to establish and maintain communications across a large footprint. With the CIT in place the area covered can be expanded as far as needed given a large enough mesh network to communicate signals.
One of the challenges overcome by the CIT was maintaining a signal through all the communications jamming from ships at port. Through the dedicated efforts of the CIT, signal and communications were maintained throughout the exercise.
In the case of the ACOR 23 exercise, DDXX was able to have a command trailer situated in an entirely different area from where material was being processed, but still have a real time connection as employees carried out their assignments.
DDXX provides regional DLA commanders with a deployable, scalable and joint distribution capability capable of supporting combatant commanders’ operational and logistical requirements for any operation as well whole of government partners such as FEMA in the case of hurricane or natural disaster relief.
“The purpose of the exercise was in learning how a material processing center works and is set up so that it can then be translated to working in a field if we need it, in a remote location,” said Christopher Steele, distribution process worker.