FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The Defense Logistics Agency’s commander of joint regional combat support met with DLA teams, coalition partners and joint service components in Germany and Italy during a trip focused on DLA’s integrated deterrence efforts and support to U.S. European Command July 11-14.
Navy Rear Adm. Doug Noble, who also serves as director of DLA Logistics Operations, began the visit attending the DLA Europe & Africa change of command in Kaiserslautern. He spent the next three days meeting DLA employees engaged in efforts to counter Russian aggression and posture the theater.
DLA Support Team members working with the Remote Maintenance and Distribution Cell-Ukraine provided a briefing on the group’s mission, which includes operating a repair center in Poland.
“The past 17 months have marked a significant shift in operations in the USEUCOM area of responsibility,” Noble said. “DLA has surged to meet the challenges associated with that. We’ve increased our presence across the Eastern flank, and the team members who volunteered to meet these challenges are doing amazing work.”
Noble and new DLA Europe & Africa Commander Army Col. A.J. Sullivan also engaged with EUCOM and U.S. Africa Command leaders to assess DLA’s performance in meeting combatant command priorities and challenges.
“To support the warfighter, you need to have your boots on the ground to see the view from their foxhole,” Noble said. “Gen. Omar Bradley said, ‘Amateurs talk strategy. Experts talk logistics.’ There’s great power in facilitating cross talk between logisticians in other organizations, enabling a global view of what we’re facing.”
Noble continued to Italy, where they visited DLA teams in Naples and toured DLA Distribution Sigonella to recognize work being done across the continent.
“These are challenging times, and our distribution teams have been pushed hard ensuring throughput to the warfighter for support to Ukraine,” Noble said. “It’s important to take the time to recognize these top performers, see the challenges they are facing and ensure we are aligned across the agency to support our frontline teams as they, in turn, support the theater for operations.”