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News | Nov. 1, 2019

SDDC Deputy Commander visits DLA Distribution, tours EDC

By Ed Shank, DLA Distribution Public Affairs

Army Col. Lillard D. Evans, deputy commander of Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, visited Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, Oct. 15, for a general overview on DLA Distribution’s mission and function and a discussion about consolidation and containerization point eligibility and the need for a west coast port of embarkment.

 

During his visit, Evans received the DLA Distribution command overview highlighting Distribution’s worldwide network detailing special functions the command provides such as kitting and hazardous material handling and detailed transportation coordination that Distribution provides for all of DLA. During the discussion on the West Coast port of embarkment, Evans surmised that SDDC can have the most influence on process issues. “We have a ton of people making sure the gates are working.”

 

Additionally, Evans participated in a walking tour of DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pennsylvania’s Eastern Distribution Center, the largest warehouse in the Department of Defense. While at the EDC, Evans learned of the receiving, processing, storage, retrieval and out loading operations, and saw the full distribution supply chain in action. He also passed by the warehouse’s key locations, including the consolidation and containerization point, the high-rise storage and retrieval system, and the air line of communication pallet build area.

 

“One of the things from an SDDC perspective,” said Col. Evans, “is for us to synchronize the efforts on our distribution mission, particularly when we’re taking a look at our booking side of the house and how DLA does direct booking into the system. I wanted to look at that and I really wanted to take a look at the warehouse to see how the warehouse operated in general.”

According to SDDC Command Affairs, their organization averages about 20 million square feet of deployment and redeployment cargo movements each year, or roughly 314 vessel operations per year, all without owning a single truck, train, barge or ship. The mission is accomplished, they say, through coordination and leveraging the capability of the commercial transportation industry and other military assets to create an efficient flow of materials worldwide.

Commissioned as a transportation officer in 1990, Evans says he understands the importance of working closely with every organization in the logistics chain.

 

“We have a distribution and a deployment mission,” he said. “DLA is primarily distribution. We look forward to working with DLA in the future and making sure that what they do is never interrupted by what SDDC can provide for them.”