FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Editor’s note: This is the fourth of nine stories featuring 2020 DLA Hall of Fame inductees. A video highlighting inductees’ contributions to the agency will be broadcast on DLA’s Facebook page June 23.
As former commander of the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, now Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, retired Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason managed four supply chains, reduced cost recovery rates and decreased logistics response times by over 50%, thereby saving the agency almost $20 million. These and other accomplishments have earned Mason a spot in the 2020 DLA Hall of Fame.
Mason, who served as commander from September 2003 to September 2005, helped implement Business Systems Modernization and managed reorganization of DLA Troop Support’s supply chains to focus on two aspects: customer needs and the industrial base.
Under Mason’s leadership, the organization established forward-positioned supply chains to ensure critical items were ready when customers needed them. He also expanded prime vendor programs worldwide, including remote locations like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Robert Ratner, who served as Mason’s chief of staff and assembled the nomination packet, said Mason’s tenure was marked by “unsurpassed commitment to the warfighter.”
“While the improvements [Mason] made in our collective performance metrics speak for themselves, it was his leadership and managerial skills that truly set him apart,” Ratner said. “But amazingly, they paled in comparison to the size of his heart and compassion for those around him. He brought out the very best in people; in my opinion, there is no greater legacy.”
Editor's note: View Mason's segment of the 2020 DLA Hall of Fame ceremony video from June 23: