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Army Command Sgt. Maj. Petra Casarez, who became the Defense Logistics Agency’s senior enlisted leader in September 2025, outlined how she’s championing noncommissioned officers, energizing morale and sharpening the agency’s readiness for crises in an interview published in the June 2026 edition of DLA’s Loglines magazine.
Describing the scope of the enterprise, she said, “DLA is a huge, massive team. We have about 25,000 teammates all over the world, in different places with many different skills.” As a uniformed leader within a largely civilian organization, Casarez cast herself as a connector who listens across echelons and relays what she hears to decision-makers, adding that her role extends beyond the agency’s internal culture to the military services it supports.
“The Army NCO creed says, ‘My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind — accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers.’” Casarez said those priorities are inseparable and, at DLA, inclusive. “At DLA, I can’t just say ‘soldiers;’ it has to be people. I also use the word ‘teammate.’ I don’t care what uniform it is. It’s not about what you wear; it’s about the team.”
She emphasized the influence of enlisted leaders in daily operations. “The enlisted workforce is the heartbeat of the operation. We are the empaths who feel what’s going on.” NCOs, she added, serve as an early-warning system: “NCOs are like the blind-spot mirror in cars that beep when you’re trying to change lanes and you didn’t really look. They ask the questions and have that sensor.” To spotlight that impact, Casarez announced a recurring feature in the agency’s magazine. “Because I and the other DLA leaders think NCOs are so important, I’m excited to announce a new section in every issue of Loglines. The first ‘Get to know an NCO’ column highlighting one of our great NCOs from DLA Troop Support appears in this issue of Loglines.”
On strategy at home and in the hemisphere, Casarez underscored the primacy of homeland defense. “If you look at the National Defense Strategy, the homeland is the priority. Before this, we looked at the homeland as power projection; we didn’t necessarily look at it as a theater of operation.” She said the agency’s remit includes rapid support for wildfires, hurricanes and other domestic emergencies. “We’re like 911 for logistics.”
Casarez highlighted contested logistics as a central focus area, pointing to recent large-scale exercises as proving grounds. “The recent exercises we’ve done, like Global Thunder and Keen Edge, let us hone our skills.” That work, she said, is steering DLA toward more predictive, data-driven support using artificial intelligence and analytics. The aim, she added, is to bolster deterrence: “We want the enemy to look at us and say, ‘We don’t want to go to war because DLA is going to make sure that the troops get what they need.’”
Casarez also addressed the energy she brings to formations — including her trademark rallying call. Recalling long days at the Army’s ordnance school during the pandemic, she said, “We wanted to end each day with a bang. We might still have our masks on as we were leaving, and we’d say, ‘Go Ordnance! Woo!’ It pumped us up.” That enthusiasm, she added, is meant to be contagious. “For me, it’s about the energy. I love what I do, and I want you to feel it and be a part of it.”
Her closing message to the workforce was simple. “I really want them to feel and understand that they are truly important.” She pointed to a recent winter storm during the Keen Edge exercise, when installation personnel worked through the weekend to clear heavy, icy snow — including steep stairs leading to a main building — so operations could continue safely. The scene, she said, epitomized how quiet, behind-the-scenes efforts enable mission success across the force: “They’re a big part of generating America’s combat power.”
The interview was published in the June 2026 edition of Loglines and was edited for length and clarity.
