AMC leader calls for stronger DLA partnerships to enhance warfighter, joint readiness

Army Lt. Gen. Gavin Lawrence used DLA Distribution’s annual Leadership Summit in New Cumberland to press the importance of tight coordination between the U.S. Army Materiel Command and the Defense Logistics Agency’s global warehouse network, telling attendees their work is central to sustaining troops worldwide.

Lawrence, AMC’s deputy commanding general and its acting commanding general, served as keynote for the weeklong gathering, held Sept. 14–18 and convening commanders, directors and deputies from all 24 DLA Distribution centers. He paired prepared remarks with an extended back-and-forth, inviting questions from center leaders on shared operational priorities and real-world challenges.

“What we do in terms of supporting our warfighters, our Soldiers in particular, absolutely cannot be done without the support of DLA Distribution,” Lawrence said. “Through your facilities, your network, you manage somewhere in the area of $34 billion in terms of Army materiel and support over 276 Army supply support activities across the globe.”

AMC depends on DLA Distribution’s field sites to move equipment and commodities from depots to tactical units. While roughly four-fifths of the active force is based in the continental United States, units operate around the world; keeping them supplied for multinational exercises in Europe, the Pacific and South America requires constant coordination with DLA’s regional hubs. Lawrence also cited the organizations’ joint work during domestic crises, including the COVID-19 response and the support effort following Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Army Lt. Col. Kelly Svarstad, who commands DLA Distribution Korea and previously served with the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said the emphasis on unity reflects day-to-day reality at the tactical and distribution levels. “It’s never going to be an us versus them. It’s never going to be this side versus that side,” Svarstad commented. “We are all on the same team, trying to push stuff forward so that the warfighter has what they need when they need it, and that’s the important part about those distribution networks.”

Drawing on personal experience, Svarstad added: “Having been on the tactical side, I had to rely on somebody making sure that I got a qualified part,” Svarstad said. “Now I’m on the side that’s executing that directly. I can drive literally two minutes down the road and see a customer with a part that I gave to them.”

Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Cotman, commanding general of DLA Distribution, said convening leaders from every site sharpens the agency’s focus and responsiveness. “These types of engagements provide a tremendous opportunity to listen, learn and have frank discussions about how we can best support the services,” Cotman said. “Bringing senior leaders together ensures our global logistics enterprise remains completely synchronized with the warfighter’s emerging operational requirements.”

Lawrence, who led DLA Troop Support from 2020 to 2022, fielded questions on contested logistics environments and ways to compress delivery timelines. The summit closed with a review of AMC’s main lines of effort—delivering ready combat formations, modernizing the organic industrial base, and supporting Soldiers and their families—and how inventory management, specialized storage and worldwide distribution at each DLA center directly advance those goals.