FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
From hurricanes to wildfires, the Defense Logistics Agency bolsters its preparedness for each disaster season through rigorous training and interagency collaboration.
This year DLA hosted an All-Hazards Rehearsal of Concept Drill June 23 at the beginning of the 2025 hurricane and Wildland Firefighting Prevention Program season.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Health and Human Services, U.S. Forest Service and the General Services Administration were among the partners present at the DLA Logistics Operations-hosted exercise, along with members of DLA’s major subordinate commands and Headquarters organizations.
“Nothing happens in isolation,” said Kevin Kachinski, executive director of DLA Operations and Sustainment. “We are focused on providing responsive logistics solutions and this is a great opportunity to build relationships and focus on resiliency.”
The primary purpose of the exercise was to train DLA personnel on disaster support procedures.
Facilitators took participants through four phases of a two-event natural disaster scenario. In the exercise, two major hurricanes strike the U.S within a 24-hour period and a major wildfire ignites in California.
Each organization summarized their actions in response to the scenario, ranging from pre-landfall and wildfire support, initial response and post-landfall support to lessons learned.
Participants discussed how DLA and its partners would approach the scenarios, with questions that included:
- Which agencies would each organization coordinate with?
- What are the potential effects on the defense industrial base?
- What interagency agreements exist to aid in response, and are they current?
An aspect of success with DLA’s partners was the execution of 19 pre-scripted mission assignments. Bottled water, tents, cots, PPE, medical supplies, fuel and tarps were some of the PSMAs that were prewritten and ready to contract when requested.
Other ways DLA supports disaster events is to deploy the Distribution Expeditionary team.
DLA Disposition Services provides no-cost surplus Defense Department equipment and excess personal property to federal and state entities through the property Reutilization, Transfer and Donation Program to help support natural disasters.
The drill also covered continuity of operations and DLA’s mission assurance responsibilities. By testing emergency relocation procedures, validating alert notification and accountability, DLA can identify areas for improvement before an emergency occurs.
“Our best assets are our people. They are risk sensors,” said Katherine Meadows from DLA’s Mission Assurance division. “Indicators of potential issues can drive decisions to ensure DLA can continue to perform mission-essential functions.”
Communication and data flow are also critical elements to a successful operation, said Peter Browne, the deputy of future operations for DLA’s Agency Synchronization Operations Center.
“We need to continue to work at executing command and control by leveraging data to inform and accelerate decision making,” Browne said.
These exercises also assist DLA operators identify gaps, fix responsibilities, and analyze and prioritize solutions before a disaster occurs.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. This year, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is predicting 13 to 19 total named storms, which involve winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, six to 10 are forecasted to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher, including three to five major hurricanes at Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 mph or higher. NOAA data reflected 70% confidence in these ranges.
Primetime for wildfires depends on summer temperatures, rainfall and wind. In California, most fires have historically occurred between May and October. However, recent data has shown that the season is lengthening, with wildfires starting earlier in the year and lasting well into the fall and winter months. In 2024, 64,897 wildfires burned in the United States, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.