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News | Sept. 27, 2024

Warfighter Connection: How Aviation supports USMC operations

By Dominique J. Shelton DLA Aviation Public Affairs

The Defense Logistics Agency is pivotal to ensuring the U.S. Marine Corps maintains operational readiness and effectiveness – that includes through the parts and services DLA Aviation provides to keep their aircraft flightworthy. Here’s a closer look at how Aviation supports America’s Devil Dogs.

Aviation manages a vast supply chain encompassing everything from procurement to distribution of Aviation parts and equipment. This supply chain ensures the Marine Corps can access the necessary components to keep its aircraft operational. By focusing on reducing lead times and maintaining inventory levels, Aviation helps the Marine Corps achieve mission readiness without unnecessary delays. 

“DLA Aviation is the catalyst that truly enables the warfighter to conduct actions on objectives,” said Marine Corps Capt. Patrick Hill, a weapon system support manager in Aviation Customer Operations’ Marine-facing division. “We prioritize and manage consumable material requirements, ensuring that items that do not follow automated processes, or items that become trouble, receive the attention needed to become healthy and increase aircraft readiness for the Fleet Marine Force.”

When an item becomes healthy, it simply means that the item is available in the quantity needed when it is needed. 

Hill said one of the most critical aspects of Aviation support is managing aircraft parts. The agency provides repair parts, consumables and other necessary components for the Corps’ various aircraft platforms. 

Aviation is also helping the Marine Corps directly enhance operational readiness through the use of its Back-Order Analysis Team, or BOAT. This team specifically targets aged backorders and increases readiness through material requirements that are not necessarily routine.

The BOAT, comprised of nine civilians and one military non-commissioned officer, a weapon system support specialist, work together to reduce backorders and conduct National Item Identification Number reviews for the overall health of an item. 

In military operations, time is often of the essence. Aviation recognizes this need and has developed rapid response capabilities to meet urgent requirements. 

To ensure timely delivery of parts and supplies to its units, the Marine Corps relies on Aviation’s Maintenance Supply Readiness Report to track high-priority tactical requirements for aeronautical material. 

“As a cohesive unit, DLA Aviation and the Fleet Marine Force host several calls within the respective weapon systems battle rhythm to address the status of parts and any amendments required to material orders,” Hill said. “Aviation works closely with the Marine Corps and other defense agencies to foster collaboration and innovation in logistics support. By engaging with stakeholders throughout the armed forces, DLA can better identify challenges and develop solutions that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. This partnership approach can help strengthen logistics capabilities and foster continuous improvement in support processes.”

According to Hill, one of the challenges Aviation faces when meeting Marine Corps demand is that the branch is small compared to most other military services and operates fewer aircraft. As a result, it can be difficult to get vendors to make unique items, since the order quantities are typically much lower than they would be in similar orders from the Army, Navy or Air Force. Another challenge is that the Marine Corps’ airborne weapons systems do not have definitive sundown dates. Not knowing when a particular aircraft model will be decommissioned makes it difficult for Aviation to keep vendors interested in supporting parts for those platforms, which can lead to supply chain disruptions.

When disruptions do occur, Aviation is able to turn to the “emergency buy.” If a vendor has trouble with a delivery schedule for any reason, an Aviation team respective to the specific weapon system will leverage the vendor base for new equipment or surplus to expedite the order for the Marines. 

Aviation collaborates extensively with the Marine Corps to understand their unique logistical needs, breeding the adaptation of new innovations or technologies like the Part Risk Integrated Sustainment Model, now under implementation. The model enables rapid analysis of NIINs per type model series and identifies those at risk, allowing employees to generate purchase requests to rectify any anticipated lack of contractual coverage for the subject material.

Ensuring supply chain resiliency is the underlying priority of the DLA 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, and from efficient supply chain management to responsive maintenance support, DLA Aviation is doing its part to ensure the Marine Corps can effectively carry out its missions – anytime and anywhere.