PHILADELPHIA –
A Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Future Operations Division planner and a Construction and Equipment supply chain team were recognized for their innovative efforts to enhance operational efficiency and mission readiness through data-driven solutions during an awards ceremony March 11.
Logistics program specialist Gary “Rick” Lake, and the C&E’s team behind the Class IV, or construction and barrier material, Activity Requirements Integration Taxonomy generator are recipients of the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support’s 2024 Innovative Award.
The Innovation Award, established in 2018, recognizes employees who demonstrate innovative thinking and decision-making, along with well-reasoned risk assessment and management, to solve a work problem or improve a process.
As the Combatant Command planner for the U.S European Command, in Troop Support’s Future Operations Division, Lake used his data acumen and desire to innovate to develop automated planning tools that enable the division to leverage data and optimize logistics planning outputs to inform senior leader decision making, said Don Weyler, logistics program specialist.
“The Troop Support Planning team is better able to understand impacts and describe risks because of [Lake’s] continued innovation and collaboration,” Weyler said.
Lake synchronized data from Troop Support’s four supply chains into three major DLA initiatives, including the Global Posture Plan, the Global Resilience Initiative and the Director’s White Board Session with the undersecretary of the Defense of Sustainment. His insight and automated tools have been used in collaboration with multiple agencies and Combatant Commands to enhance supply chain resilience, enhance efficiency and mitigate risk.
“Lake is known for his meticulous attention to detail and his willingness to build up and support his teammates," Weyler said. “His incredible work this year directly ensured Troop Support is better postured to support the warfighter and absolutely merits this recognition.”
Lake said his motivation for innovation comes from the organization’s constant effort to better support the warfighter and their mission.
“DLA provides incredible support to the Warfighter during peacetime operations, but when we transition to a contested environment how will the DLA Enterprise handle the surge of sustainment for the customer,” he said. “Utilizing data inputs from multiple sources allows us to forecast items military services will need for the duration of a conflict. Providing these data-driven findings to the warfighter educates them on the logistical challenges we endure. This process never stops as we must recalibrate and reevaluate our findings daily to better serve the Warfighter.”
The CLARITY generator team consists of C&E employees Marko Graham, Troy Vokes, Adam Tutolo, Rodney Farrell, Veronica Refela and Army Maj. Matthew Szarzynski. The team worked with DLA Research and Development and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center, along with input from subject matter experts from across the military services and combatant commands, to develop and launch an artificial intelligence driven planning tool that assists DLA customers and planners to develop estimated requirements.
“Intergovernmental agency initiatives [and] cross-functional teams from multiple federal offices working together, allows great ideas to take off,” Szarzynski said. “When multiple offices with differing expertise areas can work together and bring their strengths, it turns good ideas into great products and tools that can used across the [Department of Defense]. These projects let opportunities occur naturally.”
CLARITY combines historical passive data with new active data to leverage new ways to generate value-added outputs that reduce risk and enable mission accomplishment, according to Szarzynski The continually learning platform forecasts supply chain requirements in support of operational and concept plans, as well as contingency operations and exercises.
“The end state for CLARITY is that it will act as an advanced requirements generator,” he said. “It will give the user, whether that’s a DLA planner or warfighter, a list of the bill of materials for whatever operation or mission they are tasked with supporting.”
Szarzynski said the tool began as descriptive, meaning it based its output on previous mission sets of the past. But as it continues to learn and advance, it has become predictive, basing its output on what could happen, and will eventually become prescriptive.
“It will clearly forecast requirements and provide recommendations on what is required for the military operations and different mission sets,” he said.