FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
More than 300 petroleum leaders, including representatives from combatant commands and service control point partners, attended Joint Petroleum Week held in the McNamara Headquarters Complex at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Feb. 26 to March 1.
Defense Logistics Agency Energy hosted the week-long event that brings together senior non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, mid-grade officers and civilian equivalents from across the community and exposes them to high-level briefings, discussions and system demonstrations designed to expand their knowledge in the joint petroleum arena.
“I am confident that the people we need to solve problems are here in this room,” said DLA Energy Commander Navy Capt. Brian Anderson during his opening remarks. “Don’t let the week go by without creating relationships. Think of this as speed dating. Your job is to meet people. Consider your challenges and find someone here who can help you.”
A seminar highlight was keynote speaker Air Force Lt. Gen. Leonard Kosinski, Director for Logistics, Joint Staff, at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, and a high-level panel discussion with Michael McAndrew, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Construction and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installations; Leigh Method, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics; and Michael McGhee, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience.
The event organizer, Doug Thomas with DLA Energy’s Futures, Integration and Posture Directorate, explained how important the annual event is for training, collaborating and supporting DLA Energy’s service bulk fuels colleagues.
“Over the years, the week has grown to include multiple events, making it a significant platform for bringing together highly experienced petroleum experts and leaders from all branches of the military and various Defense Department agencies,” Thomas said. “The primary goal is to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and training among these experts and leaders during a week-long suite of event.”
The first two days of the week is the Joint Petroleum Seminar focused on global initiatives and examining lessons learned and best practices. Wednesday is the Joint Petroleum Working Group and the last two days are the Installation Planning Review Board and the Joint Petroleum Executive Committee. The Review Board is convened annually to collect and prioritize all potential DLA-funded military construction projects for energy commodities infrastructure.