Clothing and Textiles supplies Army Green Service Uniforms for fallen service members

The Defense Logistics Agency’s Clothing and Textiles team moved quickly this spring to supply Army Green Service Uniform components for the Joint Personal Effects Depot at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, after the base’s military clothing store lacked stock, according to agency officials.

The request surfaced in late March, when the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff G-4, Lt. Gen. Michelle Donahue, contacted DLA Troop Support Commander Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Kelly to check on the availability of AGSU items at Dover’s military clothing sales store. Timothy Schmidt, supervisor for DLA Clothing and Textiles’ Army Recruit Training Center team, then led an expedited response.

“Its mission is to receive and prepare for (final) interment all servicemembers, (Department of War) civilians, and contractors that are killed in the line of duty overseas,” Schmidt said. “Part of that mission includes outfitting fallen warriors for burial in the family’s uniform of choice.”

As a joint organization on an Air Force installation, JPED staff had historically driven to nearby clothing sales locations to source uniform components when needed. But the local options were limited. “Because Dover is not technically a joint base, although the JPED is a joint organization, and the military population there is relatively small, there was extremely limited uniform availability, and in fact no AGSU components are stocked there at all,” Schmidt said.

After a series of calls beginning with the Army’s Mortuary Affairs headquarters, Schmidt connected directly with JPED, coordinated with a third-party logistics provider, and manually updated delivery details to prevent delays. The depot received uniforms within five days: 18 men’s dress coats, 13 dress shirts, 13 dress trousers, and two women’s slacks. Additional JPED orders followed in May, including neckties, women’s dress shirts, dress coats, slacks, and men’s trousers.

For long-term sustainment, Schmidt urged JPED to establish and maintain access to the Army’s Global Combat Support System to place recurring orders with DLA Troop Support. “This way, they will be able to more easily order larger quantities when needed and maintain their supply chain more proactively as opposed to reactively,” he said.

Schmidt’s team typically supports nearly 100,000 Army recruits each year, as well as the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, the National Guard and other Army customers. The effort for JPED underscores the Clothing and Textiles supply chain’s role in providing uniforms across a service member’s career, including for those killed in action.

According to JPED’s website, the depot is the only organization of its kind within the department, established on Sept. 11, 2001, to receive, safeguard, inventory, store, process and determine final disposition of personal effects of deceased or missing service members.