DLA creates J-4: the Defense Logistics Agency has established a new directorate to improve its support to the services. One result will be a stronger partnership with Army logisticians

Army Logistician, July-August, 2004 by William H. Taylor, III, Eddie Murphy

The "shock and awe" that characterized the race to Baghdad in Operation Iraqi Freedom can be related directly to our Nation's logistics prowess. The unified efforts achieved by Army and Department of Defense (DOD) logisticians in support of Army forces on the ground in Southwest Asia certainly were key to ousting the regime of Saddam Hussein.

As Operation Iraqi Freedom unfolded, dynamic shifts in the battlespace and evolving geopolitical goals created new challenges throughout our logistics network. From the factory to the foxhole, Army and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) logisticians worked in tandem to meet a surge in battlefield requirements that strained the U.S. industrial base and highlighted pitfalls in our in-transit visibility and distribution capabilities.

Tacticians predict that future conflicts will be marked, like Iraqi Freedom, by rapidly changing task organizations and widely dispersed logistics and combat operations. Austere conditions and a fragmented distribution structure with no single point of authority will continue to stress our ability to collectively sustain our fighting forces. The result of all of these factors will be a mandate to form greater alliances throughout DOD.

In both Afghanistan and Iraq, when shortfalls occurred and the execution of logistics plans failed to follow doctrine, particularly in the "last tactical mile," it was the innovative soldier who proved vital in achieving operational success. Since Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom began, the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) has been designated DOD's Distribution Process Owner. TRANSCOM has partnered with DLA, the Army, and other logistics stakeholders to work on initiatives that address the weaknesses in the "last tactical mile" and other intheater transportation and distribution issues. DLA and the Army continue to develop partnerships and have developed missions and goals that will enhance their logistics interoperability.

Army Logistics Transformation

The DLA Strategic Plan directly supports the Army G-4 White Paper published in October 2003. This paper highlights four focus areas at the top of the Army's logistics priorities: connect Army logisticians, modernize theater distribution, improve force reception, and integrate the supply chain. Ultimately what this means for the Army is improved requirements determination; true end-to-end supply chain distribution; more effective DLA and Army collaboration; more efficient operations architecture and fiscal execution; and a fully integrated information management system. To demonstrate its commitment to helping the Army define and implement its logistics transformation, DLA has established a Customer Operations and Readiness Directorate (J-4).

DLA Reorganization

In June 2003, Vice Admiral Keith Lippert, the Director of DLA, made the decision to stand up the new J-4 organization to "align the agency's customer support strategies with the warfighter." The J-4 vision is to ensure that customers' voices are heard and that DLA acts as an advocate for the Army and the other services, not just as a manager of transactions. This advocacy role will ensure that customers are served effectively; it also will drive change, ensuring that DLA continuously adapts to meet the customers' needs.

Lippert stated, "We will build value for the warfighter by establishing mutually rewarding customer relationships, anticipate requirements, and ensure customer focus throughout DLA." The J-4 will engage customers around the world and will maximize readiness and logistics combat power by leveraging an enterprise solution. Although the J-4 will be the DLA's "face" to the customer, the shift to customer relations management is an agency-wide initiative that will result in major benefits to the Army. The key functions of the J-4 will include customer operations, performance measurement, and program support.

Account Managers

The new J-4 includes military service teams that consist of senior military and civilian personnel who engage their assigned service proactively at every level. Each military team is led by a national account manager (NAM). The NAM is a senior military officer who serves as the primary manager dedicated to providing logistics support to his assigned service and that service's full range of weapon systems.

Colonel Bill Taylor, the Army NAM, is responsible for working at the Army G-4 and Army Materiel Command levels to dovetail DLA and Army readiness and support initiatives. He recently stated, "Our goal is to ensure that the Army's weapon systems exceed established readiness goals and that the soldier receives what he needs, when and where he needs it, on time, every time." The Army NAM and his staff serve as the "eyes and ears" for DLA, interfacing and collaborating with senior Army representatives to resolve DLA and Army logistics issues that affect military and national security objectives. They participate in weekly, monthly, and quarterly meetings and forums to interface with the Army's senior logisticians to plan and assess the Army's needs and support requirements as well as to facilitate collaboration with the customer as required.