COLUMBUS, Ohio –
The Defense Logistics Agency has helped sustain the “sea leg” of the U.S. nuclear triad since the Cold War began. It is one of the agency’s first and most continuous efforts directly supporting the nation’s defense.
From the forward-facing teams at the tip of the spear performing customer service to the enterprise supply chains ensuring critical parts are available – all in lockstep with the Navy – it literally takes a village to ensure the Navy’s fleet of 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines remain able to hold the line against America’s adversaries.
“It’s all about maintaining that sea leg of the nuclear triad,” said Navy Capt. Scott Wallace, outgoing director of Maritime Customer Operations for DLA Land and Maritime. “And the secret to its success as the most lethal deterrent in America’s nuclear arsenal for almost four decades is literally the cycle of keeping the fleet of Ohio-class boats on patrol to always have that strategic deterrent out there.”% of the nuclear triad, the submarines, known as “boomers,” act as the third leg of the silent backstop to America’s national security, with land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, long-range bombers, and dual capable aircraft making up the land and air legs of the triad, respectively.
“We will never forget it was our submarines that held the line against the enemy.”
— Navy Fleet Admiral Chester NimitZ, World War II
Representing 70% of the nuclear triad, the submarines, known as “boomers,” act as the third leg of the silent backstop to America’s national security, with intercontinental ballistic missiles making up the land leg. The air leg of the triad includes long-range bombers and dual capable aircraft.
Virtually undetectable, the hallmark of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine fleet is its potential to strike at a moment’s notice anywhere in the world after a strategic nuclear attack commences. Known as a second strike, the boats ensure swift retaliation against any attack, intending to halt any further aggression.
“You won’t know it’s coming until it’s too late,” Wallace said, noting that the Trident missiles the subs carry can be launched from deep under the sea in any location and travel at hypersonic velocities with unmatched accuracy and range.
Each of the multiple, independ-ently targeted nuclear warheads on a Trident missile are capable of unleashing more destruction than was seen in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II.
“It’s the ultimate guarantor of our strategic deterrence,” Wallace said.
DLA Maritime Customer Operations is continuously supporting the Ohio-class while the Navy undertakes modernization efforts to bring the more technologically advanced Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine online by the end of this decade.
The Ohio-class fleet, first commissioned in the early 1980s, was originally designed to operate for 30 years. However, through major refits and overhauls the Navy has extended its service life past 42 years, longer than any previous class of submarines.
“The Navy is counting on the Ohio-class to stick around until the new Columbia-class is operational,” said Joe Moore, the weapons system support manager for the Navy Nuclear Reactors Program at DLA.
Moore, who has been the nuclear reactor WSSM for 20 years, said he serves as the single weapons-system-level contact for customers’ concerns and issues and acts as a liaison with supply chain owners and logistics service providers across the enterprise.
A hallmark of maintaining the “silent service’s” capabilities is nuclear power.
“Nuclear propulsion is essential for the Navy’s ability to deploy and maintain a credible deterrent,” Moore said. “This is because nuclear power allows submarines to operate stealthily, remain at sea indefinitely, and ensures the survivability of the third leg of the nuclear triad as they are less vulnerable to an attack.”
Wallace said supporting the Ohio-class is a team effort at both the strategic and transactional levels. The team unites expertise from across DLA and includes a multitude of disciplines embedded in the supply chains.
“From the dedicated WSSM providing strategic support to the multitude of customer-facing professionals throughout the enterprise – it’s an all-hands-on-deck mentality daily,” he said.
Originally the Ohio-class fleet consisted of 18 submarines, but in the 2000s, the Navy converted the first four boats to guided missile submarines following recommendations from the 1994 Nuclear Posture Review.
Ginalee Lewis, DLA’s WSSM for the Ohio-class, is dedicated to successfully supporting the ballistic missile and guided missile submarine fleets.
“True collaboration goes beyond coordination – it’s a shared commitment,” Lewis said. “The DLA team operates with a unified purpose to ensure the Ohio-class submarine fleet remains ready and capable in its mission of strategic deterrence.”
DLA manages more than 100,000 consumable repair parts for the Ohio-class. Dedicated teams, both customer-facing and within the supply chain, prioritize the continuous availability of parts ranging from common to complex components to ensure strategic submarine mission readiness.
“As with any aging weapons system, the challenge lies in balancing the management of obsolescence issues and all that entails, all while ensuring the continued availability of parts so the Ohio-class never goes out to sea without what it needs,” Lewis said.
Her day-to-day mission involves finding solutions to unique customer problems, taking corrective actions and initiating process improvements, she said, and that’s what makes the job so exciting for her.
“That’s what the majority of my job is like – a puzzle,” she laughed. “In our business, we are always finding solutions to fit the problems.”
Tom Caudle, a Maritime Customer Operations customer logistics site specialist based out of Trident Refit Facility Kings Bay, Georgia, recently worked with Lewis to get a part to a boat going into overseas maintenance in a very short window of time.
Lewis was indispensable in getting that part out to the warfighter as she leveraged her network on the supply chain side of the house, and the emergency repair ultimately allowed the boat to continue its mission, Caudle said.
“When it comes to servicing these boats, sometimes minutes matter. And I know I can reach back to [Lewis] to negotiate with the supply chains to get that emergency part to the customer no matter where the boat is in its mission cycle,” he said.
Caudle, who acts as a liaison and on-the-ground problem solver working directly with Navy customers, credited the Columbus, Ohio-based team for helping him to do his job effectively as DLA’s eyes and ears on the ground.
“Having that network back in Columbus makes all the difference to us out here in the field,” he said.
“Simply put, this business of submarine sustainment is a team sport,” said Dyan Hooper, the product support manager for in-service strategic submarines in Naval Sea Systems Command’s Program Executive Office for Strategic Submarines.
PEO Strategic Submarines stood up in October 2021 to align all Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine activities and Ohio-class activities under one umbrella.
“Every day Ginalee and team are working to identify and overcome complex parts challenges, they are expediting material delivery in support of critical operational and maintenance schedules, and they are working to get out ahead of future requirements by ensuring we have the right parts available when and where they are needed,” Hooper said. “We simply would not be able to accomplish our mission without the dedication and support of the DLA Land and Maritime team.”
Lewis echoed that sentiment.
“Having positive relationships within DLA, with the Navy Ohio-class Program Executive Office and many others is critical to my success as a WSSM at DLA,” Lewis said.
Shannon Daniels, deputy site director at DLA Maritime Puget Sound, Trident Refit Facility Bangor, Washington, agreed.
“Every part plays a vital role, with some being more critical than others. That’s why communication between internal and external stakeholders is essential to ensuring we meet the warfighters’ needs,” he said.
“Bottom line is getting that part to the boat that needs it so it can continue its vital mission no matter where it is located,” said DLA Maritime Puget Sound TRF Bangor Site Director Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Owen.
The decades-long success of the program boils down to one thing, Lewis added.
“It’s all about relationships and understanding the mission at hand.”