WEBVTT 00:14.440 --> 00:17.390 It was launched by a handwritten memo 00:17.410 --> 00:19.920 and made its first home in buildings No 00:19.920 --> 00:23.230 one else wanted . But there was no 00:23.230 --> 00:27.230 denying the vision of its founders Or 00:27.230 --> 00:29.341 the hard work of thousands of men and 00:29.341 --> 00:32.050 women who for over 60 years have built 00:32.050 --> 00:33.660 on that vision 00:57.470 --> 01:00.660 and today the Defense logistics agency 01:00.860 --> 01:04.200 carries on the legacy that is forged by 01:04.210 --> 01:07.250 history and focused on the future . 01:09.940 --> 01:13.630 Mm hmm . As the 1960s approached , 01:13.680 --> 01:15.958 there was a sea of change taking place . 01:16.340 --> 01:19.600 America's star was rising . Innovation 01:19.600 --> 01:21.900 was key to productivity . The country 01:21.900 --> 01:25.410 was breaking into new frontiers and 01:25.410 --> 01:27.021 moving to a different beat . 01:29.240 --> 01:31.870 Mhm . But the armed Services were stuck 01:31.870 --> 01:34.210 in a pattern . Military logistical 01:34.210 --> 01:36.260 support organizations were still as 01:36.260 --> 01:38.427 they had been for a century and a half 01:38.650 --> 01:40.860 separate from each other and each with 01:40.860 --> 01:44.710 its own way of doing things . Before de 01:44.710 --> 01:47.170 ella , each , each member of each 01:47.170 --> 01:49.750 service had its own supply system , its 01:49.750 --> 01:52.150 own logistic system , its own depot 01:52.150 --> 01:54.260 system . It's a communication system 01:54.760 --> 01:56.760 And they used to came up with a cry 01:56.760 --> 01:58.816 which is very valid cry why don't we 01:58.816 --> 02:00.816 have one item ? one . Supply demand 02:00.816 --> 02:03.160 control point for everybody . Well , 02:03.160 --> 02:05.650 that's almost cause for revolution . 02:07.140 --> 02:09.029 The election of president Kennedy 02:09.029 --> 02:11.370 ushered in a new style of leadership 02:11.440 --> 02:13.440 and his secretary of defense robert 02:13.440 --> 02:15.660 McNamara called for a new approach to 02:15.660 --> 02:19.340 logistics . On october 1st 1961 02:19.350 --> 02:22.040 he created the defense supply agency 02:22.080 --> 02:24.670 within D . O . D . But separate from 02:24.670 --> 02:26.850 the armed services . De esa had a 02:26.850 --> 02:29.180 single mission provide the U . S . 02:29.180 --> 02:31.500 Military with world class logistical 02:31.500 --> 02:33.640 support and a cost taxpayers could 02:33.640 --> 02:36.240 afford . Many doubted that any 02:36.240 --> 02:38.018 organization made up largely of 02:38.018 --> 02:40.840 civilians could handle the challenge . 02:40.850 --> 02:44.350 1961 . Major General Andrew T . 02:44.350 --> 02:46.830 McNamara a combat quartermaster during 02:46.830 --> 02:48.870 world war two was made deputy 02:48.870 --> 02:51.148 commanding general of the eighth U . S . 02:51.148 --> 02:53.850 Army stationed in Korea . He expected 02:53.850 --> 02:56.330 his tour to last a full year but it was 02:56.330 --> 02:58.497 cut short by a cable from Secretary of 02:58.497 --> 03:01.910 Defense robert McNamara Andrew McNamara 03:01.910 --> 03:04.077 was needed back in the states to serve 03:04.077 --> 03:05.910 as the first director of the new 03:05.910 --> 03:09.150 defense Supply Agency later to become 03:09.150 --> 03:10.930 the Defense logistics agency . 03:12.540 --> 03:16.190 Dad and Mom both talked to me about 03:16.200 --> 03:18.830 being the first director of defense 03:18.830 --> 03:22.020 supply agency . Dad from one standpoint , 03:22.020 --> 03:25.920 mom from another dad mostly from the 03:25.930 --> 03:28.680 standpoint of trying to start from 03:28.680 --> 03:32.470 scratch uh to organize and and 03:32.470 --> 03:35.720 get into motion on a very quick notice 03:35.730 --> 03:39.720 a new agency in Washington . He was 03:39.720 --> 03:41.498 assigned , you know , temporary 03:41.498 --> 03:44.730 barracks and in order to get people to 03:44.730 --> 03:48.100 come to work . He sometimes had to the 03:48.100 --> 03:50.450 women from their cars in the parking 03:50.450 --> 03:53.790 lot into their offices and then out as 03:53.790 --> 03:56.070 the director . The rats were so big 03:56.080 --> 03:58.210 that the ladies were scared to even 03:58.210 --> 04:02.120 work there . My mother told me that he 04:02.120 --> 04:04.760 had lost a lot of friends and a lot of 04:04.760 --> 04:08.330 acquaintance because that he accepted 04:08.330 --> 04:11.880 this job as the first director and that 04:11.890 --> 04:14.830 even as the ex quartermaster general , 04:14.840 --> 04:17.540 he was a judas Iscariot for taking it 04:17.550 --> 04:20.880 because of the missions that would be 04:20.880 --> 04:24.310 usurped from the various other 04:24.320 --> 04:27.120 army , Navy and Air Force . But dad 04:27.120 --> 04:28.580 accepted the task , the 04:28.580 --> 04:31.920 responsibilities and new it felt that 04:31.920 --> 04:34.650 it was the right thing to do to save 04:34.650 --> 04:37.770 money and to be a single manager and 04:37.780 --> 04:40.840 single ownership of all of these things . 04:40.850 --> 04:44.010 Many doubted that any organization made 04:44.010 --> 04:46.250 up largely of civilians even serving 04:46.250 --> 04:48.540 side by side with military personnel 04:48.550 --> 04:50.690 could handle the challenge and many 04:50.690 --> 04:52.857 more disagreed about how things should 04:52.857 --> 04:55.780 be done . De esa at the time the 04:55.780 --> 04:58.790 Defense Supply Agency , it was almost a 04:58.800 --> 05:01.040 sleepy backwater little agency compared 05:01.040 --> 05:03.320 to what it is today . We had half a 05:03.320 --> 05:06.140 dozen distribution depots , some 05:06.140 --> 05:09.480 consumable items . Not not all , some 05:09.480 --> 05:12.580 contract management , not all . And we 05:12.580 --> 05:14.780 never really got the exposure at the 05:14.780 --> 05:17.002 highest levels of the of the Department 05:17.002 --> 05:18.947 of Defense that we get today . But 05:18.947 --> 05:21.350 there were still rivalries that existed 05:21.360 --> 05:23.670 among people who had worked for the 05:23.670 --> 05:25.670 army or they worked for the navy or 05:25.670 --> 05:27.892 they worked for the Air Force and you'd 05:27.892 --> 05:30.003 have conversations that were peppered 05:30.003 --> 05:32.170 with the Air Force did it this way and 05:32.170 --> 05:32.080 that's a better way than you're 05:32.080 --> 05:34.990 proposing now . De ESAs mission was to 05:34.990 --> 05:36.879 build the logistics system of the 05:36.879 --> 05:39.300 future . But the work environment was 05:39.310 --> 05:41.770 anything but futuristic . The ceiling 05:41.770 --> 05:44.600 was made of parachutes draped and hung 05:44.600 --> 05:48.560 from the ceiling of the warehouse and 05:48.560 --> 05:50.504 of course electrical cords and the 05:50.504 --> 05:52.671 phone cords hung down from the ceiling 05:52.671 --> 05:55.920 onto your desk . The floors were were 05:55.920 --> 05:58.100 checkerboard , black and white tile 05:58.100 --> 06:00.211 over concrete . The coldest , hardest 06:00.211 --> 06:03.350 floors you can ever imagine . Gray ugly 06:03.350 --> 06:06.270 desks that half the drawers didn't work , 06:06.270 --> 06:08.680 file cabinets that came from warehouses 06:08.680 --> 06:10.902 where half the drawers wouldn't close , 06:10.902 --> 06:14.390 let alone a lock . And even more funny 06:14.390 --> 06:16.446 is that the wiring coming out of the 06:16.446 --> 06:18.668 ceiling looked like we were tied to our 06:18.668 --> 06:20.890 desk . They had smoking at that time in 06:20.890 --> 06:22.960 the office space . By mid afternoon 06:22.960 --> 06:25.740 you'd see this cloud hanging 06:25.750 --> 06:28.890 about six ft above the 06:28.900 --> 06:32.780 floor . Mm hmm , 06:34.440 --> 06:38.260 mm hmm . In the 1960s , 06:38.270 --> 06:40.492 the us launched the first American into 06:40.492 --> 06:42.770 space and the entire country saw a 06:42.780 --> 06:46.660 bright future ahead . Right 06:46.660 --> 06:48.882 from the start . The new agency had its 06:48.882 --> 06:51.610 hands full . It was given management of 06:51.620 --> 06:53.800 eight operations previously run by the 06:53.800 --> 06:55.900 armed services in the hope that it 06:55.900 --> 06:58.011 might save the government $30 million 06:58.011 --> 07:00.640 dollars each year in hardly any time at 07:00.640 --> 07:02.960 all . General McNamara and his team 07:02.970 --> 07:05.192 were far exceeding those expectations . 07:05.192 --> 07:08.170 Within six months , three more centers 07:08.170 --> 07:10.680 joined the fold And de ESAs workforce 07:10.690 --> 07:14.590 grew to more than 16,000 employees . By 07:14.590 --> 07:16.812 the end of its second year , the agency 07:16.812 --> 07:18.923 was managing over a million different 07:18.923 --> 07:22.760 items and an inventory of $2.5 billion . 07:24.140 --> 07:26.500 The young agency was thriving and 07:26.500 --> 07:28.440 facing its first real logistics 07:28.440 --> 07:30.770 challenge while proving itself ready 07:31.070 --> 07:34.540 and able It shall be the policy of this 07:34.540 --> 07:37.330 station to regard any nuclear missile 07:37.940 --> 07:40.130 launched from cuba against any nation 07:40.140 --> 07:42.950 in the Western hemisphere as an attack 07:43.440 --> 07:45.329 By the Soviet Union on the United 07:45.329 --> 07:48.910 States in 1962 . During the 07:48.920 --> 07:52.140 Cuban missile crisis , there was an 07:52.150 --> 07:54.600 almost overnight change in the 07:54.600 --> 07:57.230 atmosphere because during the Cuban 07:57.230 --> 08:00.610 missile crisis , it was a surprise and 08:00.620 --> 08:02.870 the intelligence was passed around . Of 08:02.870 --> 08:05.670 course we had different secret and top 08:05.670 --> 08:08.700 secret security measures . At that time 08:08.710 --> 08:11.680 I was a secretary and my typewriter 08:11.680 --> 08:14.520 ribbon was cloth and so it had to be 08:14.530 --> 08:16.697 taken out of the typewriter and locked 08:16.697 --> 08:19.750 up at night in a secure area . And 08:19.750 --> 08:21.950 because we were managing photographic 08:21.950 --> 08:25.450 supplies and the reconnaissance film 08:25.460 --> 08:27.920 that was used for those reconnaissance 08:27.920 --> 08:30.250 flights was taken out of the warehouses 08:30.250 --> 08:33.730 here in the mid 19 08:33.730 --> 08:36.160 sixties . Big changes were taking place 08:36.160 --> 08:39.100 in US culture and de ESAs employees 08:39.110 --> 08:42.820 were changing with the times ready 08:43.440 --> 08:45.400 when I first came to work here , I 08:45.400 --> 08:47.622 guess in the middle of the civil rights 08:47.622 --> 08:49.789 movement , some changes have been made 08:49.789 --> 08:51.900 to better . Thanks for blacks . The 08:51.910 --> 08:54.410 bathrooms and the doors entering the 08:54.410 --> 08:56.810 bathrooms and all had been painted over . 08:56.810 --> 08:58.699 But you can see the still see the 08:58.699 --> 09:02.440 letters white only and colored was on 09:02.440 --> 09:05.350 the doors . A lineup of nimble knees 09:05.360 --> 09:07.582 shows that the hem has risen to a point 09:07.582 --> 09:09.749 of no return when the mini skirts came 09:09.749 --> 09:13.140 in there , there was a limit to how 09:13.140 --> 09:15.450 short your miniskirt could be . All the 09:15.450 --> 09:18.100 men wore white shirts , dark ties , all 09:18.100 --> 09:20.156 the women wore dresses or suits . No 09:20.156 --> 09:22.489 one wore pants to work during that time . 09:22.489 --> 09:24.656 I remember wearing a pant suit to work 09:24.656 --> 09:26.544 for the first time and felt quite 09:26.544 --> 09:28.840 uncomfortable , Everyday life may have 09:28.840 --> 09:30.896 been changing by leaps and bounds in 09:30.896 --> 09:33.760 the 1960s . But the war in Vietnam 09:33.760 --> 09:36.430 continued to dominate the headlines and 09:36.430 --> 09:38.720 the team at D . S . A . Continued to 09:38.720 --> 09:41.110 work tirelessly to support the U . S . 09:41.110 --> 09:44.890 Troops . It was combat oriented and we 09:44.890 --> 09:47.030 had to be a lot faster on our feet , 09:47.040 --> 09:49.860 get stuff moving through the people in 09:49.860 --> 09:52.800 the field a lot faster than we did and 09:52.810 --> 09:56.340 develop better ideas . I remember 09:56.340 --> 09:59.970 once an officer called me , it was 09:59.970 --> 10:02.192 during the Vietnam era and I could hear 10:02.192 --> 10:03.192 the bombs in the 10:03.192 --> 10:07.080 background and he wanted to know 10:07.080 --> 10:09.310 where his shipment was at . That his 10:09.320 --> 10:13.250 people needed these medical supplies . 10:13.740 --> 10:16.370 And so I was like , oh my God , you 10:16.370 --> 10:18.481 know , and I can I call you back ? He 10:18.481 --> 10:20.314 goes , no , I'll call you back . 10:20.640 --> 10:24.390 Between 1965 and 1969 . De ESA 10:24.390 --> 10:26.690 delivered more than 22 million tons of 10:26.690 --> 10:29.450 dry cargo and 14 million tons of coal , 10:29.450 --> 10:32.260 petroleum to Vietnam . And the agency's 10:32.270 --> 10:34.290 total procurement soared past $6 10:34.290 --> 10:37.060 billion dollars to manage this surge in 10:37.060 --> 10:39.320 volume D . S . A acquired five more 10:39.330 --> 10:41.740 army and navy depots , completing the 10:41.740 --> 10:43.684 vast depot network that served the 10:43.684 --> 10:45.684 agency's customers well into the 19 10:45.684 --> 10:48.190 nineties and began merging operations 10:48.190 --> 10:50.357 as a first step toward the streamlined 10:50.357 --> 10:53.830 organization of today . The agency was 10:53.830 --> 10:55.830 also charged with administering the 10:55.830 --> 10:58.150 most defense contracts . And almost 10:58.150 --> 11:00.390 overnight the agency's mission expanded 11:00.390 --> 11:02.760 from strictly supply operations into 11:02.760 --> 11:04.960 providing full logistic services . 11:05.840 --> 11:08.320 We're transitioning into supplying the 11:08.320 --> 11:10.209 theater with refrigerator advance 11:10.209 --> 11:13.230 rather than unbreakable chips and 11:13.230 --> 11:15.286 eventually we phase the banana boats 11:15.286 --> 11:18.790 out and relied upon containerized 11:18.790 --> 11:21.480 refrigerated vans . We were able to 11:21.480 --> 11:25.330 send California Arizona growing iceberg 11:25.330 --> 11:29.100 lettuce to Vietnam and having arrived 11:29.100 --> 11:32.380 there absolutely wonderful 11:32.380 --> 11:34.790 shape . I remember sitting there 11:34.790 --> 11:36.970 working , you had all of these little 11:36.970 --> 11:39.026 blanks , you had to fill in manually 11:39.026 --> 11:40.760 pencil and pen filling out the 11:40.760 --> 11:43.370 worksheet to make an award . Um And 11:43.370 --> 11:45.800 then once I finished it , if I'm the 11:45.800 --> 11:48.130 buyer then I would pass it on to the 11:48.130 --> 11:50.690 contracting officer and that person 11:50.690 --> 11:53.530 would take his or her pen and go over 11:53.530 --> 11:56.360 to make sure that every thing that's 11:56.360 --> 11:58.640 required on that document was required 11:58.640 --> 12:01.910 and was all done manually , pencil and 12:01.910 --> 12:02.660 pen . 12:09.340 --> 12:11.890 The 1970s saw people hustling to the 12:11.890 --> 12:15.730 dance floor and the end of the 12:15.730 --> 12:19.280 Vietnam war and D . S . A . Was going 12:19.280 --> 12:21.750 through its own brand of change . The 12:21.750 --> 12:23.972 agency established the defense property 12:23.972 --> 12:25.806 disposal service in Battle creek 12:25.806 --> 12:27.750 michigan to help dispose of assets 12:27.750 --> 12:29.980 returning from Vietnam and acquired 12:29.980 --> 12:32.170 worldwide responsibility for procuring 12:32.170 --> 12:34.440 and managing food items and bulk energy 12:34.440 --> 12:36.290 products in support of U . S . 12:36.290 --> 12:39.630 Warfighters overseas . As the agency's 12:39.630 --> 12:41.830 workload had grown , technology had 12:41.830 --> 12:43.970 become increasingly important and the 12:43.970 --> 12:46.081 technology that proved most important 12:46.090 --> 12:48.320 was the D . L . A . Standard automated 12:48.320 --> 12:50.500 material management system more 12:50.500 --> 12:54.090 commonly known as SAM's . We got up to 12:54.090 --> 12:57.390 a million items of supply and pretty 12:57.390 --> 12:59.501 much with the same amount of people . 12:59.501 --> 13:01.557 So if it wasn't for automation there 13:01.557 --> 13:03.779 was no way you would be able to process 13:03.779 --> 13:05.723 that kind of volume and and on the 13:05.723 --> 13:08.990 almost real time time frames so we had 13:08.990 --> 13:11.320 more opportunities to be creative . 13:11.330 --> 13:14.100 Sam's proved itself . You know , it 13:14.100 --> 13:16.920 worked and creativity was a necessity , 13:17.320 --> 13:19.500 especially as de esa found itself 13:19.510 --> 13:21.850 facing new challenges . The energy 13:21.850 --> 13:24.930 crisis in the seventies was certainly a 13:24.940 --> 13:27.162 defining moment . I mean , not only for 13:27.162 --> 13:30.200 the country but but certainly for us uh 13:30.210 --> 13:32.500 in DFS C at the time when the Arab 13:32.500 --> 13:35.990 nations boycotted And cut production in 13:35.990 --> 13:38.610 73 , the most noticeable thing from 13:38.610 --> 13:40.777 everyone's perspective I guess was the 13:40.777 --> 13:43.110 price of oil just went through the roof . 13:43.110 --> 13:45.166 We saw prices that were unheard of . 13:45.166 --> 13:47.277 Prior to that time , we had some very 13:47.277 --> 13:49.388 close calls in terms of being able to 13:49.388 --> 13:51.388 meet mission . I know at one on the 13:51.388 --> 13:53.610 east coast of the United States we were 13:53.610 --> 13:55.666 down to about five days of supply of 13:55.666 --> 13:58.770 jet fuel for the Navy . Very precarious 13:58.770 --> 14:01.410 situation . We never failed to supply 14:01.840 --> 14:04.510 uh fuel that was needed for a mission . 14:05.940 --> 14:08.490 So one interesting thing was the 14:08.500 --> 14:10.780 Secretary of Defense decided he would 14:10.780 --> 14:12.891 meet with all the major oil companies 14:12.891 --> 14:15.113 at the time . There was six or seven of 14:15.113 --> 14:18.150 them and I got to attend that meeting 14:18.180 --> 14:21.320 behind closed doors . But what he was 14:21.320 --> 14:23.900 trying to do was convince them to bid 14:23.900 --> 14:26.080 more on our contracts so that we 14:26.150 --> 14:28.261 wouldn't have as much trouble meeting 14:28.261 --> 14:32.140 our demand . And finally in 1977 the 14:32.150 --> 14:34.290 agency's name was changed to reflect 14:34.290 --> 14:36.401 the full scope of its services to the 14:36.401 --> 14:39.560 United States and its military forces 14:47.240 --> 14:49.610 For most Americans . The 1980s met 14:49.620 --> 14:52.130 Ronald Reagan as president and the 14:52.130 --> 14:55.460 Berlin Wall tumbling down . 14:56.340 --> 14:58.284 But the eighties also saw de Ellas 14:58.284 --> 15:01.180 business increase and change technology 15:01.180 --> 15:03.510 coming into the workplace assuming 15:03.510 --> 15:05.566 disposal of D . O . D . Is hazardous 15:05.566 --> 15:07.980 and toxic materials earning its 15:07.980 --> 15:09.980 designation by Congress as a combat 15:09.980 --> 15:13.050 support agency and assuming management 15:13.050 --> 15:15.217 of the nation's stockpile of strategic 15:15.217 --> 15:18.090 materials . We had no computers 15:18.100 --> 15:21.760 until the early 80's I think it was . 15:21.770 --> 15:25.280 And at the time we had one computer per 15:25.280 --> 15:28.010 bay of the building so you might have 15:28.010 --> 15:31.090 like 100 people sharing one computer 15:31.100 --> 15:34.420 and your team had an assigned time . So 15:34.420 --> 15:36.900 if you didn't if nobody from your team 15:36.910 --> 15:38.940 went and used the computer then you 15:38.940 --> 15:41.770 lost your time . Big change that 15:41.770 --> 15:43.992 occurred when I was comptroller was the 15:43.992 --> 15:46.159 Department of Defense established Debe 15:46.159 --> 15:48.159 off the Defense Business Operations 15:48.159 --> 15:50.159 Fund . Now known as Working capital 15:50.159 --> 15:52.780 Fund . That was a very significant 15:52.780 --> 15:55.350 change because it changed the way D . L . 15:55.350 --> 15:58.490 A . Was funded . It changed the ability 15:58.490 --> 16:01.630 of delay to make good decisions on how 16:01.630 --> 16:04.530 they bought products and and how they 16:04.530 --> 16:07.220 manage the organization . But what it 16:07.230 --> 16:09.460 really did is it the use of a cost 16:09.460 --> 16:12.390 recovery rate , focused the customer on 16:12.400 --> 16:16.140 how much delay cost them to do the work 16:16.140 --> 16:17.990 that they could otherwise do for 16:17.990 --> 16:20.400 themselves . And that made the L . A 16:20.400 --> 16:23.400 focus really heavily on cost , on 16:23.400 --> 16:26.160 reducing the cost of doing business . 16:31.940 --> 16:34.162 The 19 nineties saw the introduction of 16:34.162 --> 16:36.384 the world wide web and mobile phones to 16:36.384 --> 16:38.690 the average person for the U . S . 16:38.690 --> 16:41.350 Military . It was about a gulf war and 16:41.350 --> 16:43.920 a mission to the Balkans . As it turned 16:43.920 --> 16:45.920 out all of de ellas growth and 16:45.920 --> 16:47.890 achievements in the 1980s were 16:47.890 --> 16:50.057 preparation for what would prove to be 16:50.057 --> 16:52.430 a tough test for the agency . In the 16:52.440 --> 16:55.400 early 90s , dispositive service was 16:55.400 --> 16:57.178 trying to promote itself to its 16:57.178 --> 16:59.011 customers to do things more cost 16:59.011 --> 17:01.122 effective and we stumbled across this 17:01.122 --> 17:03.390 thing called web technology . So we're 17:03.390 --> 17:05.590 talking to different universities that 17:05.600 --> 17:07.330 were kind of involved in the 17:07.330 --> 17:09.770 development of this technology . And we 17:09.780 --> 17:11.669 stumbled across the University of 17:11.669 --> 17:13.558 Switzerland that actually had the 17:13.558 --> 17:15.724 software we could download . And right 17:15.724 --> 17:17.836 after we got it running , we realized 17:17.836 --> 17:19.780 its potential . We were one of the 17:19.780 --> 17:19.300 first on the internet to have a 17:19.300 --> 17:21.540 searchable database online . We had a 17:21.550 --> 17:23.606 group of customers that were in here 17:23.606 --> 17:25.772 and we asked them what they would like 17:25.772 --> 17:27.994 to see in a searchable database . If it 17:27.994 --> 17:30.217 would make their job easier . They were 17:30.217 --> 17:32.050 all in agreement it would . So a 17:32.050 --> 17:34.050 gentleman came and he sat down , He 17:34.050 --> 17:36.217 typed in his search and I was watching 17:36.217 --> 17:38.272 it took about four minutes for it to 17:38.272 --> 17:40.383 come back . And as soon as the search 17:40.383 --> 17:42.550 came back , he picked up the telephone 17:42.550 --> 17:42.020 next to the terminal and he called our 17:42.020 --> 17:44.150 Fort Lewis office and told him he 17:44.150 --> 17:47.380 wanted all 24,000 pair . And I had this 17:47.380 --> 17:49.491 puzzled look on my face , I'm going , 17:49.491 --> 17:51.547 what are you going to do with 24,000 17:51.547 --> 17:55.250 pair of extra large boxer shorts ? And 17:55.250 --> 17:57.472 he smiled at me and he says they're for 17:57.472 --> 18:00.350 the homeless . We had a group from 18:00.350 --> 18:02.461 Delhi headquarters that came down . I 18:02.461 --> 18:05.900 demo the product to them . They really 18:05.900 --> 18:08.067 pleased with what it looked like . But 18:08.067 --> 18:10.100 at the end they said Rod , it was a 18:10.100 --> 18:12.322 great demo , but it'll never catch on . 18:13.040 --> 18:15.207 And we just smiled and I said , may we 18:15.207 --> 18:17.318 continue with our research . And they 18:17.318 --> 18:19.318 said , of course it doesn't cost us 18:19.318 --> 18:21.207 anything . Mm hmm . It speaks for 18:21.207 --> 18:23.262 itself . Now we didn't have any sand 18:23.262 --> 18:25.207 colored camouflage uniforms in the 18:25.207 --> 18:27.151 military to talk about all , we're 18:27.151 --> 18:29.151 talking huge numbers of troops that 18:29.151 --> 18:31.373 went to the desert . Not sure the exact 18:31.373 --> 18:33.484 numbers was at least a half a million 18:33.484 --> 18:35.707 troops we sent over there And we didn't 18:35.707 --> 18:37.873 have , you know , three sets of desert 18:37.873 --> 18:39.929 uniforms for all those folks . So we 18:39.929 --> 18:42.096 had to get cranking on that . And uh , 18:42.096 --> 18:44.207 a little clothing factory right there 18:44.207 --> 18:46.373 on post are 1200 wonderful people that 18:46.373 --> 18:48.596 worked over there . Uh , jumped to that 18:48.596 --> 18:50.707 thing . We were producing 100 sets of 18:50.707 --> 18:53.020 camouflage uniforms a day . Why were 18:53.030 --> 18:54.863 why we were working to bring the 18:54.863 --> 18:56.474 contractors online . The big 18:56.474 --> 18:59.850 manufacturers . One of my main memories 18:59.860 --> 19:02.570 is when it was operation Desert Shield , 19:02.570 --> 19:06.100 Desert Storm . And we were providing 19:06.100 --> 19:08.220 the equipment for the soldiers to 19:08.220 --> 19:11.070 deploy and there was a shortage of 19:11.080 --> 19:13.710 Kevlar helmets and clothing and 19:13.710 --> 19:16.540 textiles . Was the agency the supply 19:16.540 --> 19:18.651 chain responsible for those helmets . 19:18.940 --> 19:21.360 And we were literally supplying helmets 19:21.370 --> 19:23.950 as soldiers were getting on the plane 19:23.960 --> 19:26.480 to deploy and some soldiers would have 19:26.480 --> 19:28.480 to stay back because we just didn't 19:28.480 --> 19:32.340 have the helmets to give them . I was 19:32.340 --> 19:35.380 in delay Europe during the Bosnia 19:35.390 --> 19:38.990 operation from 1994 to approximately 19:38.990 --> 19:42.720 1999 . And during that time 19:42.730 --> 19:46.240 information operations , we had to 19:46.240 --> 19:48.490 deploy our own network for D . L . A . 19:48.650 --> 19:51.280 So we brought our desktop computers 19:51.280 --> 19:53.480 with us , the ethernet cables , the 19:53.480 --> 19:57.130 satellite kit and we deployed the 19:57.130 --> 20:00.450 network and got the communication set 20:00.450 --> 20:03.580 up for the contingency team so that 20:03.580 --> 20:07.180 they could communicate back to what was 20:07.180 --> 20:10.850 at the time . Sam's Desert Storm taught 20:10.860 --> 20:13.300 team D . L . A . Many lessons and the 20:13.300 --> 20:15.540 result was the agency taking a major 20:15.540 --> 20:17.596 leap into adopting the best business 20:17.596 --> 20:19.373 practices of leading commercial 20:19.373 --> 20:21.890 companies . This enabled D . L . A . To 20:21.890 --> 20:24.057 not only improve its existing services 20:24.200 --> 20:26.470 but also expand its role in emergency 20:26.470 --> 20:28.690 assistance and contingency support 20:28.690 --> 20:31.750 efforts . Back in the 80s . We were 20:31.750 --> 20:33.806 basically following a business model 20:33.806 --> 20:36.750 that had been put in place for over a 20:36.750 --> 20:39.890 century which was buying product and 20:39.900 --> 20:42.380 sending it to a warehouse . So we would 20:42.380 --> 20:45.870 buy bulk coffee , we would buy bulk 20:45.880 --> 20:49.050 sugar , send it to the warehouse and 20:49.050 --> 20:51.217 then the warehouse would break it down 20:51.217 --> 20:54.540 and send those products to the defects 20:54.550 --> 20:57.860 worldwide so that the inventory model 20:57.870 --> 21:00.200 and so forth was really something that 21:00.210 --> 21:02.570 just we kept doing because that's how 21:02.570 --> 21:04.737 we had supported the troops for many , 21:04.737 --> 21:06.737 many years including up and through 21:06.737 --> 21:10.080 Vietnam . So one of the things that uh 21:10.090 --> 21:12.780 we looked at in those early days , we 21:12.780 --> 21:14.669 got looking at how the commercial 21:14.669 --> 21:17.740 sector provided product . That was the 21:17.740 --> 21:21.200 start of the re engineering of the 21:21.210 --> 21:23.210 business processes that we up until 21:23.210 --> 21:25.490 this day we continue with many , many 21:25.490 --> 21:27.680 generations each time trying to 21:27.680 --> 21:30.560 continuously improve the product and 21:30.560 --> 21:33.430 solutions for the warfighter . Another 21:33.430 --> 21:35.597 major change for D . L . A . In the 19 21:35.597 --> 21:37.390 nineties was moving D . L . A . 21:37.390 --> 21:39.390 Headquarters from its world war two 21:39.390 --> 21:41.612 offices to more modern quarters at fort 21:41.612 --> 21:44.190 belvoir Virginia , mm hmm . 21:50.210 --> 21:52.580 In the 2000s we ushered in a new 21:52.580 --> 21:55.650 millennium witnessed the tragedy of 9 21:55.650 --> 21:58.740 11 and watched as a massive hurricane 21:58.890 --> 22:02.230 caused devastating disaster . Always 22:02.230 --> 22:04.710 dedicated to supporting the nation . De 22:04.710 --> 22:06.766 Ella employees stepped up like never 22:06.766 --> 22:09.650 before to fight the war on terror and 22:09.650 --> 22:11.650 take on new missions like providing 22:11.650 --> 22:14.480 supplies to battle wildland fires and 22:14.480 --> 22:17.550 humanitarian disasters . In addition , 22:17.740 --> 22:19.573 Team D . L . A . Pursued a major 22:19.573 --> 22:21.518 undertaking to update its business 22:21.518 --> 22:25.430 systems . Well , D D . X . X . Is uh D . 22:25.430 --> 22:29.220 L . A distribution expeditionary . They 22:29.230 --> 22:31.840 came up to be after the devastation 22:31.840 --> 22:34.007 that Hurricane Katrina put the US back 22:34.007 --> 22:37.600 in 2005 fema asked the Department of 22:37.610 --> 22:40.340 Defense on how department Defense will 22:40.350 --> 22:43.310 be able to support fema with regards to 22:43.320 --> 22:46.800 future natural disasters . We went to 22:46.800 --> 22:49.133 bagram Afghanistan , there's not a site , 22:49.133 --> 22:51.530 there's not anything we're living in 20 22:51.530 --> 22:53.630 by 40 wouldn't be huts and the lead 22:53.630 --> 22:55.860 individual that knew about sites and 22:55.860 --> 22:58.890 such . His back went out within a month . 22:58.900 --> 23:02.290 His back went out so that left myself 23:02.300 --> 23:04.356 and another individual . He was a GS 23:04.356 --> 23:06.522 seven that was very very experienced . 23:06.522 --> 23:08.522 As far as sites are concerned , you 23:08.522 --> 23:10.744 know , forklift driver really knew that 23:10.744 --> 23:12.967 kind of thing but not the other . So we 23:12.967 --> 23:15.078 just started pulling out the manual , 23:15.078 --> 23:17.189 we went page by page and we I figured 23:17.189 --> 23:19.300 it out . And when we opened the gates 23:19.300 --> 23:21.467 to say , hey , you know , here's duomo 23:21.467 --> 23:23.467 baghram and we're open . We invaded 23:23.467 --> 23:26.420 Iraq in 2000 and three from that point 23:26.420 --> 23:30.230 until around 2000 and seven US was 23:30.230 --> 23:32.660 taking a lot of casualties from what it 23:32.660 --> 23:34.580 was called I . E . D . S . Or 23:34.590 --> 23:38.250 improvised explosive devices . Our up 23:38.250 --> 23:40.370 armored Humvees even though they were 23:40.370 --> 23:42.470 up armored and just are soft skinned 23:42.470 --> 23:44.800 vehicles , there were no match for 23:44.810 --> 23:48.650 these I . E . D . S . In 2000 and seven . 23:48.660 --> 23:50.820 The Secretary of Defense made a 23:50.820 --> 23:53.450 commitment to start developing and 23:53.450 --> 23:55.970 deploying my resistance armor 23:55.970 --> 23:58.690 protection devices or MRAPs and putting 23:58.690 --> 24:00.746 those in the field so we can protect 24:00.746 --> 24:02.857 our soldiers and allow people to come 24:02.857 --> 24:04.710 home . So we get these emergency 24:04.710 --> 24:06.766 requests from theater where we would 24:06.766 --> 24:08.932 then have to go through kind of a mini 24:08.932 --> 24:10.877 version that process . We would we 24:10.877 --> 24:13.043 would then coordinate with the service 24:13.043 --> 24:14.932 to say okay , is this part number 24:14.932 --> 24:17.099 correct for this item ? And as it used 24:17.099 --> 24:19.210 here on the vehicle , do you have any 24:19.210 --> 24:21.321 technical data that we can use for it 24:21.321 --> 24:23.321 if this is needed ? Then as soon as 24:23.321 --> 24:25.377 they say yes go ahead and sign it we 24:25.377 --> 24:27.599 then assign it get the information back 24:27.599 --> 24:26.710 to the war fighters so they know what 24:26.710 --> 24:28.932 they can start ordering in terms of the 24:28.932 --> 24:31.000 of the stock number and when you're 24:31.000 --> 24:33.190 rolling out a big system like BSN 24:33.510 --> 24:35.940 you've really got to be synchronized 24:35.940 --> 24:39.930 and aligned every day and so we began 24:39.930 --> 24:42.900 to gather in the evenings and it was 24:42.910 --> 24:46.750 only us , no one else and we worked 24:46.750 --> 24:49.240 through things and I believe really 24:49.240 --> 24:52.070 created a high performing organization 24:52.070 --> 24:53.360 as a result of that 25:00.040 --> 25:03.260 In the 2010s the world saw social media 25:03.260 --> 25:06.720 explode causing connection and 25:06.720 --> 25:10.560 chaos . The war on terror continues 25:11.340 --> 25:13.451 and D . L . A . Took a bigger role in 25:13.451 --> 25:15.340 supporting relief of humanitarian 25:15.340 --> 25:17.396 missions and natural disasters while 25:17.396 --> 25:19.507 still supporting our war fighters and 25:19.507 --> 25:22.110 the nation . When I became the J seven 25:22.110 --> 25:24.560 director , one of the actions going on 25:24.560 --> 25:28.060 was Ouellet Liberia . We had the Ebola 25:28.060 --> 25:31.920 crisis there and so our contractor 25:31.930 --> 25:34.230 again we were calling at the tail end 25:34.240 --> 25:36.750 of the challenge and so we had a 25:36.750 --> 25:39.950 contract for scrap that was generated . 25:40.140 --> 25:42.362 But then we also had a contract for the 25:42.362 --> 25:45.080 hazardous waste . And that can be also 25:45.080 --> 25:47.300 challenging . Trying to find adequate 25:47.310 --> 25:49.840 storage facilities that meet us 25:49.840 --> 25:52.950 criteria in a third world country 25:53.940 --> 25:56.370 and then on top of Harvey hit the other 25:56.370 --> 25:58.720 three hurricanes right after it . So we 25:58.720 --> 26:02.560 were busy and we would work till Late 26:02.560 --> 26:04.870 at night , sometimes 10:00 at night , 26:04.880 --> 26:07.270 sometimes midnight . It's not uncommon . 26:08.240 --> 26:10.462 What happens is if the field site comes 26:10.462 --> 26:12.407 in with items that we need because 26:12.407 --> 26:14.629 we'll send out items needed . The field 26:14.629 --> 26:16.851 site comes back and we'll go check with 26:16.851 --> 26:18.962 the customers say do you need it ? If 26:18.962 --> 26:21.184 yes , they bring it on record as well . 26:21.184 --> 26:23.407 As soon as they bring it on record , we 26:23.407 --> 26:25.573 must put that order in After five p.m. 26:25.573 --> 26:27.684 Each day when the inventory updates . 26:27.684 --> 26:29.851 So that wasn't even a requirement . We 26:29.851 --> 26:32.018 don't think twice about it . It's just 26:32.018 --> 26:34.018 something we do . It's your job and 26:34.018 --> 26:36.184 you're glad to help anything we can do 26:36.184 --> 26:38.880 to help . It makes you glad that you 26:38.880 --> 26:40.380 have the job that you have 26:46.240 --> 26:48.960 as de Ella settles into the 20 twenty's , 26:49.010 --> 26:51.270 the agency continues to evolve into a 26:51.270 --> 26:53.960 world class organization and embrace 26:53.970 --> 26:56.090 innovation to better support the 26:56.090 --> 26:59.060 warfighter and the nation . Well in my 26:59.060 --> 27:01.400 mind the the idea of the readiness 27:01.400 --> 27:05.150 dashboard and the 27:05.160 --> 27:08.620 agency synchronization and operation 27:08.620 --> 27:11.250 center were inseparable operations also 27:11.250 --> 27:13.740 involves procurement , it also involves 27:13.740 --> 27:15.990 distribution , it involves disposition 27:15.990 --> 27:18.650 services . It also has to be tied to 27:18.650 --> 27:21.560 our energy enterprise . And so all of 27:21.560 --> 27:24.530 that had to come together in one place 27:24.530 --> 27:28.090 within this agency . I felt that it was 27:28.090 --> 27:31.030 the next evolution in D . L . A . 27:31.030 --> 27:33.760 Becoming even more effective to get all 27:33.760 --> 27:37.610 of those capabilities into one place to 27:37.610 --> 27:39.930 manage this enterprise and to look at 27:39.930 --> 27:42.520 our key performance metrics not on a 27:42.520 --> 27:44.464 quarterly basis , not on a monthly 27:44.464 --> 27:46.980 basis but the ability to take a look at 27:46.980 --> 27:50.500 them every single day tied to 27:50.510 --> 27:52.730 the readiness support that we provide 27:52.730 --> 27:56.260 to the services the early 20 twenty's 27:56.260 --> 27:58.200 found team D . L . A . Once again 27:58.200 --> 28:00.367 facing a challenge that would test the 28:00.367 --> 28:02.800 world's resilience and strength . The 28:02.800 --> 28:04.700 global pandemic was yet another 28:04.700 --> 28:07.410 opportunity for the agency to shine and 28:07.410 --> 28:09.570 be recognized for its logistics savvy 28:09.580 --> 28:11.730 in supporting the war fighter and the 28:11.730 --> 28:14.720 nation . We were 16 to 18 hour days 28:14.840 --> 28:16.840 right from the get go . And what we 28:16.840 --> 28:19.007 found is that the United States needed 28:19.007 --> 28:21.173 a lot of personal protective equipment 28:21.173 --> 28:22.951 and needed ventilators , needed 28:22.951 --> 28:25.118 pharmaceuticals to combat covid . What 28:25.118 --> 28:27.229 we found though unfortunately is that 28:27.229 --> 28:26.840 at least when it came to P . P . E . 28:26.840 --> 28:30.000 85% of it was made overseas . Um And as 28:30.000 --> 28:31.920 you can imagine if they weren't 28:31.930 --> 28:34.041 fighting covid themselves . Well they 28:34.041 --> 28:36.263 probably would have been a problem . Um 28:36.263 --> 28:38.430 But they were we have a lot of 28:38.440 --> 28:40.840 relationships with not only D . O . D . 28:40.840 --> 28:43.280 But other federal agencies over 40 28:43.290 --> 28:45.580 federal agencies . So a lot of that , 28:45.580 --> 28:48.660 those agencies , both HHS and fema were 28:48.660 --> 28:50.860 very well aware of our capabilities 28:51.440 --> 28:55.350 as they were tasked . And as we found 28:55.360 --> 28:57.416 no one was really fully prepared for 28:57.416 --> 29:00.670 this pandemic . There was an immediate 29:00.680 --> 29:03.770 gravitation to , hey , we've worked 29:03.770 --> 29:05.770 with delay before delay . Are there 29:05.770 --> 29:07.659 things you can do to help us with 29:07.659 --> 29:09.270 providing medical supplies , 29:09.270 --> 29:12.170 transportation capability , acquisition 29:12.170 --> 29:15.700 capability . And so that's really how 29:15.700 --> 29:19.340 it became a agency effort in support of 29:19.340 --> 29:21.562 not only the warfighter and D . O . D . 29:21.562 --> 29:25.310 But for the nation , history 29:25.320 --> 29:27.376 only takes shape with the clarity of 29:27.376 --> 29:29.510 hindsight . The relics that make a 29:29.520 --> 29:31.820 decade memorable aren't always obvious 29:31.830 --> 29:34.800 until long after it has passed . Any 29:34.810 --> 29:36.754 doubt that an organization made up 29:36.754 --> 29:38.866 largely of civilians could handle the 29:38.866 --> 29:42.470 logistics challenge is long gone as DLL 29:42.480 --> 29:45.260 grows and changes with the times . One 29:45.260 --> 29:47.960 thing is certain Team D . L . A . Will 29:47.960 --> 29:51.200 remain dedicated , bold and steadfast 29:51.200 --> 29:52.478 in meeting the mission 29:54.740 --> 29:58.060 forged by history focused on the future