PHILADELPHIA –
Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support employees were prepared for Hurricane Florence well in advance of it hitting the coast of the Carolinas on Sept. 14.
“When reports of the storm and its possible impact began surfacing, the DLA Troop Support team began working with our customers and vendors to ensure supplies needed for victims in the affected areas would be available,” Navy Capt. William Clarke, Troop Support Operations and Plans director, said.
The team filled requirements for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in support of both federal and local needs.
DLA Troop Support materials provided to FEMA include:
- 107 generators
- 167,000 cases of Meals, Ready-to-Eat
- 1,296 flotation devices and gloves
- 1,320 waders
Additionally, DLA Troop Support’s Subsistence supply chain provided 31,000 cases of MREs and 47,000 cases of bottled water for Department of Defense forces deployed to provide aid.
Subsistence also coordinated with DLA Distribution to ensure the delivery of more than 16,000 cases of MREs to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Senior leaders within the organization held daily briefings to discuss current operations and to provide status to members of the joint logistics board, which was comprised of representatives from DLA, FEMA and U.S. Northern Command.
Not only were Troop Support employees working diligently during this effort, but the vendors did an outstanding job as well, Clarke said.
“Shout out to our excellent vendors, who are great Americans, in the path of the storm and personally affected themselves, but still making deliveries or going above and beyond to drive generators all night from outlying states,” he said.
Although the winds and the rains of Hurricane Florence have passed, the citizens of the affected areas are still dealing with the devastation left behind.
“The team continues to remain ready to expeditiously respond to DOD forces, FEMA, and/or [United States Agency for International Development/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance], as they continue to surge staffing and capabilities in support of recovery and response efforts,” Army Lt. Col. Latrina Lee, DLA Troop Support Chief of Current Operations, wrote in the final situational report on the hurricane assistance efforts.