NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –
The mantle of command changed hands at Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Sigonella, Italy, on May 29 as Navy Cmdr. Renae Renken relinquished command to Navy Cmdr. Aaron Smith at a ceremony presided over by Brig. Gen. Kevin L. Cotman, commanding general, DLA Distribution.
“Commander Renken has exemplified what it means to be a true team player, always collaborating across the joint force to ensure collective success,” said Cotman in remarks delivered during the ceremony.
A milestone achievement during Renken’s tenure in command was the completion of a solar micro-grid that provides operational resiliency through a combination of solar panels and battery energy storage. This ensures the more than 13,000 lines items of inventory can continue to flow through in support of the warfighter despite any infrastructure uncertainty.
Renken leaves DLA Distribution Sigonella, Italy, to take on a role within Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Taking command of the distribution center, Smith, a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, earned his commission through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2008.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, in 2007, and a master’s degree in business administration focusing on acquisition and contract management from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, in June 2021. He is also a 2023 graduate of the Joint Combined Warfare School in Norfolk, Virginia.
His operational assignments include assistant supply officer on the USS Winston S. Churchill in Norfolk, Virginia; and supply officer on the USS Carter Hall in Little Creek, Virginia.
His shore assignments include supply officer at the Naval Computers and Telecommunications Station in Sigonella, Italy; deputy director of military pay operations for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Cleveland, Ohio; supervisory contracts negotiator for Naval Sea Systems Command at the Washington Navy Yard; deputy director of the Defense Logistics Agency Headquarters, 3-Star Strategic Initiatives Group in Fort Belvoir, Virginia; and deputy chief of contracting for the Office of Special Projects at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C.
Smith is designated as a Surface Warfare Supply Corps officer and achieved Defense Acquisition Professional Membership in 2019. He holds several Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certifications across a range of acquisition competencies, including contracting, business financial management and life cycle logistics. He is also designated as a fully joint qualified officer, Level III.
His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit, campaign and service medals.