FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Agency senior leaders addressed the current state of the Defense Logistics Agency and its way ahead through transformation at a global town hall Oct. 1.
DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, DLA Vice Director Brad Bunn and Senior Enlisted Leader Army Command Sgt. Maj. Petra Casarez took to the stage at the McNamara Headquarters Complex auditorium to kick off the new fiscal year and discuss changes the agency is experiencing.
One such change is the integration of DLA Land and Maritime and DLA Aviation into one major subordinate command called DLA Weapons Support with workforces maintained in both Richmond, Virginia, and Columbus, Ohio.
During the town hall’s question-and-answer portion, an employee asked when the workforce can expect to see changes related to the new MSC, such duty, supervisory and office location changes.
Many elements of the new MSC are still being determined before the new organization is set to be fully integrated in October 2026, Simerly said.
“It’s important as we prepare to make those decisions that we create the opportunity for you to comment and to give us feedback as we shape the organization,” he said. “There’s no doubt that the expertise on how we should be shaped and how we should be operating in the future resides in those two pockets of excellence in Richmond and Columbus.”
He added that the employees in both locations are still needed.
“This is not an effort to pick one command or one location,” he said. “We’re going to need both workforces committed in the way that they are committed to excellence today in the delivery of spare parts to the joint force.”
DLA Land and Maritime and DLA Aviation were partnering for years in their common mission of providing material support to over 2,000 weapons systems across all the services, Bunn said.
“This is about formalizing that partnership that’s been happening informally for many years and turning that into something that is part of the organizational structure itself,” Bunn said.
While common functions are already starting to come together under the new MSC, Bunn said there is still work to be done when it comes to new work structures, where employees will be based, and other decisions. He added that those decisions may start as early as the second quarter of fiscal 2026.
Simerly noted other areas of the agency may be changing as well.
“We’re looking at functions that we perform across the agency that may need to be performed differently, or may need to be performed by others,” he said, adding that DLA’s Document Services is one service under review.
The agency is also examining infrastructure such as distribution centers and bulk fuel storage sites, making sure locations and services will be useful in the future rather than as legacy requirements, he said.
Many of these changes are a result of proposals the agency provided as part of the Department of War’s Comprehensive Review, Bunn said, which made the agency consider ways to become more efficient.
“We took a very carefully thought-out, deliberate process under Lt. Gen. Simerly’s leadership to look at those things that we had thought about for many years and determined that this was an opportunity to marry-up the idea of more efficiency – and more importantly – better support that we provide to our warfighting partners,” Bunn said.
DLA accumulated many of these functions and missions as a result of base realignments and closures, or other agreements with the services and whole-of-government partners, Bunn said.
“While we can’t just divest those things unilaterally, we are beginning conversations with the Office of the Secretary, as well as with those services or other customers and partners to see whether there’s a different way we can do that,” Bunn said.
The agency is also looking at ways it can provide more services to the War Department that would be more efficient and cost effective. Leadership is working with the agency’s human resources and finances teams to minimize adverse impacts on the workforce.
Quantico meeting
Simerly and Casarez attended Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump’s meeting with military’s generals and flag officers at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, Sept. 30. Simerly said Hegseth’s message to ensure the focus is on wartime requirements and the warrior ethos is already embedded in what DLA does.
“We have to be focused on supporting the warfighter,” Simerly said. “Everything that we do has to be about supporting victory.”
In addition to other guidance issued for military personnel, Simerly said there are two areas he wants the DLA workforce to focus on.
“The first one is the importance of our mission,” he said. “That’s not changing. It’s enduring, and in my view, it’s sacred, this mission that we have to sustain our warfighters. The second part is our responsibility to take care of each other, to always treat each other with dignity and respect.”
He tied this to the expectations he has for the DLA workforce, which are trust, discipline and commitment.
“We all have a responsibility to inspire, to build and sustain trust in our organizations,” he said. “It is the lifeblood of this agency. It’s the lifeblood of the military profession as well.”
Government shutdown
Leaders received a question about how long the agency could continue to operate during the federal government shutdown that started Oct. 1. Outside of around 200 employees who have been furloughed, DLA is a working capital fund entity that can continue to operate independently from appropriated funds for a period of time, Simerly said. The estimate is that current operations can continue for about 20 days.
Simerly began and concluded the town hall by thanking the DLA workforce and wished the agency a happy 64th birthday.
“You all serve a tremendous role for our nation and our national security rely upon you because you sustain the force,” Simerly said. “You sustain those warfighters who are prepared to put their lives on the line to defend our nation, and they simply can’t do it without you.”
Employee recognition
Several individuals and teams were acknowledged for their recent achievements.
Individual Awards:
- Justin Wingo, DLA Energy, Contracting award for the Installation’s Emergency Response Substation Generation Plan and Testing, U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Interagency Energy Policy Committee.
- Andrea Houck, DLA Installation Management, 2025 Domestic Abuse and Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Recognition Award from the OSW Family Advocacy Program.
- Ian Antal, DLA Legislative Affairs, ASW(S) coin recipient
- Tiffany Gibbs, DLA Logistics Operations, ASW(S) coin recipient
Team and unit awards:
- Defense Supply Center Richmond, 2025 Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence and the 2025 Secretary of War Environmental Award for Cultural Resources Management, small installation
- National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund Financial Statement Audit Team, Salute to Excellence in Government Service – Exceptional Innovation USW (Comptroller) Financial Management Awards Program
- DLA Financial Aviation Pricing Team, Contributions to Data-Driven Decision Making: Below Major Command Level – Team, USW (Comptroller) Financial Management Awards Program
- DLA Acquisition and DLA Information Systems, Department of War Contracting Awards – JETS and Contract Writing System