COLUMBUS, Ohio –
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Doug Noble visited the Defense Supply Center Columbus Sept. 1-2 in his inaugural visit as DLA’s Director of Logistics Operations and Commander of Joint Regional Combat Support.
Noble received an in-depth look at DLA Land and Maritime’s latest technologies and capabilities during a series of briefings and tours across the Central Ohio logistics center that included visits to the installation’s Continuity of Operations Plan site, testing labs and DLA Disposition Services operations.
“There are a lot of things that we as an agency need to work across all of the major subordinate commands,” Noble said. “This visit helps me to get a stronger understanding of how we’re doing with these issues at the deckplate level. I’m now able to go back and engage with the team at headquarters to ensure we’re in sync with what you’re doing here locally.”
One of the highlights of the visit was the installation’s COOP site improvements. Shortly before the installation was shut down in March 2020 due to statewide pandemic measures, COOP site managers completed installation and certification of a new synchronized operations center inside the facility. DLA’s COOP sites are alternate work locations constructed to help keep the agency’s essential missions and functions running in the event of emergencies that prevent employees from working at their regular location, such as in the case of natural disasters. The DSCC COOP location proved critical when agency logistics operations personnel at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, temporarily relocated to Columbus in the early months of COVID-19.
“It was a great experience – It gave us the affirmation that this site does work,” said DLA Land and Maritime COOP Program Manager Bill Ansley, who briefed the center’s capabilities as an enterprise-wide DLA COOP site. “If something were to happen on the east coast, we could host the majority of DLA’s Emergency Relocation Team members here in Columbus.”
During a walking tour of DLA Land and Maritime’s Mechanical and Electronic product testing labs accompanied by DLA Land and Maritime’s Commander Navy Rear Adm. Kristen Fabry and Deputy Commander Ken Watson, Noble viewed the latest technologies to detect nonconforming materials and further ensure Warfighters receive quality parts. The Electronics Product Test Center unveiled its newest capability last October with the opening of an in-house battery testing facility.
Noble said he was struck by the breadth of the product testing capabilities. “It’s not just one lab testing one characteristic or component. It’s a pretty robust range – from putting the integrated circuits into the tester and testing the actual functions on the chips right down to the dimensional testing and metallurgy these labs can do,” he said. “All the possible ways you can try to test an item both destructive and nondestructive…that’s all resident here. What strikes me is the tremendous amount of complexity in all this, and the capabilities of the Product Test Center labs are very impressive.”
Noble praised the battery testing center which has already saw success with improved operational efficiency and reduced cost since bringing the capability online.
“It’s a great initiative, and an exciting opportunity to build upon and expand out in other areas moving forward,” he stated.
The final portion of Noble’s visit concluded with a command presentation covering key topics including engineering support activities, fraud deterrence, business processes and policies.