New DLA podcast series offers venue for contested logistics discussions

There’s a new source for contested logistics conversations with the launch of the Defense Logistics Agency’s “DLA Dialogues: From Factory to Foxhole” monthly podcast series.

The series offers discussions with DLA subject matter experts intending to challenge assumptions, guide growth and spark curiosity as part of the agency’s Campaign of Learning.

Each episode focuses on evolving customer needs, the urgency of building more resilient supply chains and the adaptations necessary to address future peer-conflict challenges. Interviews aim to provide listeners with a deeper understanding of the increasingly contested logistics landscape and the strategic initiatives shaping DLA’s future.

In the debut episode, Peter Battaglia, DLA’s deputy director of Mission Assurance, explores the supply chain risk management implications of the September 2024 Hezbollah pager attacks.

“Israel took several years in order to set up false companies, utilize actually legitimate pagers, insert the explosives and sell them to Hezbollah,” Battaglia says to describe the lengths Israel took to infiltrate Hezbollah’s supply chain.

The podcast provides an examination of the complexities of supply chain security and the strategic maneuvers involved.

“When you start to concentrate, you really need to analyze that risk and understand what does that do to your operations? How do you check that supply chain?” he asks.

This episode includes insights into DLA’s strategies for mitigating risks and ensuring operations security.

The series will continue later in September as Sharon Croll, the Industrial Capability and Warstopper program manager, will discuss the agency’s Warstopper Program and its role in contested logistics environments. Future episodes will delve into emerging cybersecurity threats, the future of wargaming at DLA and the release of the agencywide strategic communication plan.

Episodes will be available on the employee Campaign of Learning portal (a DLA common access card is required), the Campaign of Learning website, DVIDS and YouTube.