Mr. Chris Collins is the Director of Operations for DLA Aviation, a major subordinate command of the Defense Logistics Agency. He assumed his position in October 2024.
Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and operating at 22 other sites across the United States and one location overseas, DLA Aviation is the aviation demand and supply chain manager for Defense Logistics Agency. Positioned alongside its military customers, DLA Aviation manages industrial support activities at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina; Naval Air Station North Island, California; and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. DLA Aviation also manages depot-level reparable procurement operations at Robins, Tinker and Hill Air Force Bases; Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia; and at Redstone Army Arsenal, Alabama. DLA Aviation also operates an industrial plant equipment maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Collins serves as the senior civilian advisor to the DLA Aviation Commander and DLA Aviation Deputy Commander for the agency’s business operations related to aviation demand and supply chain support to U.S. military services, whole of government, and foreign military sales customers. He also oversees special projects and coordination across the DLA Enterprise on behalf of DLA Aviation.
Mr. Collins retired from active-duty military service in August 2011 after more than 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. In his following civilian career at DLA Aviation, Mr. Collins most recently served as: Director of Customer Operations; Deputy Director of the U.S. Air Force Customer Facing Division; and Chief of the Fusion Operations Division – all in Richmond. Prior to these assignments, he was the DLA Aviation Deputy of the Forward Presence in support of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
During his military service, Mr. Collins’s experience included: Marine Corps Customer Relationship Management Cell Chief at DLA Aviation; Commanding Officer of the Fargo, North Dakota Military Entrance Processing Station; Assistant Supply Officer and Supply Officer of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 (MALS-26); a Naval Postgraduate School Utilization tour with Marine Corps Systems Command; and various Aviation Supply Officer billets with MALS-39 and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM-163). As an enlisted Marine, Mr. Collins served in various billets in the personnel, security force and ground supply specialties.
Mr. Collins holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Citadel and a Master of Science in Information Technology Management from the Naval Post Graduate School. He also is a graduate of the Department of Defense Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School and a graduate of the Advanced Program in Logistics and Technology from UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.