In front of a packed crowd, Defense Logistics Agency Pacific Commander Navy Capt. Kristin Acquavella held her first Town Hall for DLA Pacific organizations Aug. 2.
As the new DLA Pacific commander, Acquavella introduced herself by answering the question “Who Am I?” for the DLA Pacific Ohana, or family, and by sharing a brief history of her tours before her assignment to DLA.
She then shared her thoughts on leadership and the importance of others and priorities. “ ‘Warfighter first. People Always’ is one of my many philosophies,” she explained.
“I work for you to help remove barriers and obstacles that are in your way so you can do your job and provide professional develop opportunities that help you to obtain your goals and aspirations,” she said. “There are lots of opportunities to develop oneself and always stay professionally curious.
“Things I care about the most: the content of your character and quality of your work. Dignity and respect across the chain of command; up, down, and sideways.”
She continued: “Customer service is our business, and we always say yes — but we must do so without compromising our character by doing anything illegal, immoral or unethical.”
“Believe in yourself and your ability to make a difference every day, because each of you counts in the grand scheme that is DLA,” Acquavella said.
“We are one DLA, no matter if you work at DLA Energy, Distribution, Disposition Services, Troop Support, Land and Maritime or any of the other activities in DLA that make this the unique organization it is today. We need to keep this global business called DLA at the forefront of everyone’s mind when it comes to logistics solutions.”
As a competitor and previous college soccer champion, she challenged the DLA audience in making a positive difference and shared a quote from Anson Dorrance describing what it means to be a champion and part of a team: “The vision of a champion is bent over drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion when nobody else is looking.”
Acquavella closed by sharing how honored and privileged she is to serve as the new commander of the DLA Pacific Region and by noting looks forward to the challenges and successes of leading DLA across the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.