Richmond, Va. –
Representatives from Defense Logistics Agency Aviation’s Army Customer Facing Division staffed the DLA Exhibit at the annual Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit, April 26-28 in Nashville, Tennessee.
“The summit is the only opportunity for the entire Army Aviation community to gather in one place at one time focused solely on Army aviation issues,” said Army Maj. Alex Shimabukuro, operations officer, Army Customer Facing Division, DLA Aviation. “The venue fostered a great opportunity for DLA to enhance the agency’s image with the Army and its Aviation community.”
Shimabukuro led the Army Aviation team that attended the event. Army Aviation team members included Army Col. Mark Hirschinger, Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Jackson, Dru Anna Jackson, deputy-forward presence, DLA Aviation at Huntsville, Alabama, and Darren Crowden, DLA Information Operations at Huntsville, customer account manager.
The Army Aviation Association of America organized the summit. Attendees included industry, acquisitions and research and development representatives. Army aviation leadership and service members also attended from special operations, maintenance, logistics and training commands across active duty, Army Reserve and National Guard units.
The summit showcased a wide range of products and services related to aviation and military sectors from more than 250 exhibitors.
Army flag officers led professional development sessions emphasizing Army readiness significance as our global demands increase and soldiers’ strength through their “Army Strong” families. Additionally, the summit offered a Warriors to the Workforce Hiring Event for transitioning aviation soldiers.
Shimabukuro said more than 100 customers stopped by the DLA booth. Customer questions were primarily aviation related, but he said the team also answered questions or provided contact information for questions on industrial hardware, labelling and accessing DLA or DoD websites to track parts.
He said the most difficult questions dealt with the length of the acquisition process, in terms of timing and administrative actions, for new businesses to introduce or sell a product to DLA.
Shimabukuro said it is important for DLA to exhibit at events like this to reaffirm its commitment to the Army Aviation community and showcase the agency’s logistical capabilities and services to a varied customer base.