FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Zainab Baa has spent much of her 19-year career at the Defense Logistics Agency tucked behind a desk, writing supply contracts for customers she rarely sees. A recent deployment to Europe showed her how much that behind-the-scenes work matters, even if she can’t always witness the results.
“Sitting here at DLA Headquarters, it can be hard to really understand the impact of what you do. When you’re out there engaging with warfighters, you quickly realize how vast DLA's support is and why our work is so important,” she said.
Baa spent August through January in Wiesbaden, Germany, where she helped troops make the most of DLA supply chains and services. Working with local and U.S.-based members of DLA Troop Support, DLA Land and Maritime, DLA Disposition Services, and other DLA activities, she served as the agency’s lead liaison officer to three commands: U.S. Army Europe and Africa; the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, or SAG-U; and the Remote Distribution Center-Ukraine.
Army units across Europe and Africa relied on Baa and her teammates to reduce back orders and increase stock for repair parts needed on weapons systems like the M1A2 Abrams and M777 Howitzer. She fielded daily queries – many of them in face-to-face meetings with leaders accountable for readiness – on ordering statuses and expected arrival times.
At the same time, Baa supported SAG-U, a Defense Department organization created in November 2022 under the U.S. European Command to coordinate the training and equipping of Ukrainian forces.
“We worked with NATO countries to determine which nations could assist Ukraine. Winter gear was an important commodity when I was there,” she said, adding that DLA offered SAG-U cold-weather items like boots and fleece liners.
When the 21st Theater Sustainment Command began using DLA Disposition Services’ Reutilization, Transfer and Donation Program to request excess U.S. military equipment on behalf of SAG-U, Baa helped ensure the team knew how to register for an online account and search the RDT’s website for inventory.
The repair activity located at the Army’s Remote Distribution Center – Ukraine in Jasionka, Poland, also turned to DLA for parts to repair weapons systems used by Ukrainian forces. Baa helped track the status of urgently needed items that were sometimes held up in shipping as distribution crews awaited enough material to build pallets for onward movement. By managing the status, Baa and her team could update customers and request expedited delivery via air.
And when the Office of the Secretary of Defense directed DLA to procure 3D printers to support Ukrainian additive manufacturing capabilities, she worked with DLA Troop Support’s Construction and Equipment Directorate to provide seven 3D printers.
Balancing simultaneous demands from multiple customers deepened Baa’s appreciation for demand forecasting.
“Customers can be frustrated by competing priorities,” she said. “That makes it so important for us as DLA employees to help customers understand the value of working with us in advance to forecast their needs.”
Baa also recognized warfighters’ need for DLA to anticipate contingency sustainment requirements. Twice during her deployment, the U.S. State Department considered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family members – first from Niger after a military coup and later from Lebanon due to escalating regional conflict. Both resulted in increased coordination and a constant need for information on emerging requirements.
“The ability of DLA to provide the services with reliable information quickly for their decision cycles makes a positive impact on the mission and peoples’ lives,” she continued.
She recommends DLA employees find ways to visit customers – even in the U.S. – and understand what they do and how the agency can support them.
“When you have that insight, you’re able to ask the right questions on customers’ behalf, and when they send you a request for help, you know why it’s important,” she said.
Baa volunteered to deploy in spring 2023 after seeing a request from the Deployment Operations Branch for employees interested in new opportunities to support warfighters. She said her experience exposed her to the breadth of DLA capabilities and is opening doors to new experiences.
The Sierra Leone native began her DLA career in 2005 with the Corporate Intern Program at DLA Aviation. She’s since worked at DLA Energy, purchasing bulk fuel for troops in the Middle East and Pacific, then worked in various DLA Acquisition divisions. Her first deployment was to Afghanistan in 2018, after which she was accepted to complete a master’s degree in national resource strategy at the National Defense University.
“DLA has given me endless opportunities, and I’m so grateful for leaders who put me on a career path to get to where I am today,” she said.
Baa currently works in DLA Logistics Operations as the lead supply chain security program manager and facilitates a DOD working group on supply chain risk management, which involves the services and whole-of-government partners working to address vulnerabilities in the DOD supply chain.
For more information on deployment opportunities, contact the Deployment Operations Branch at depops@dla.mil. Watch this 7-minute video to learn about DLA's Rapid Deployment Teams, which support worldwide missions like humanitarian assistance and military operations.