DLA Distribution leaders convene global town hall to chart logistics future, honor staff

Defense Logistics Agency Distribution leaders convened a worldwide hybrid town hall Sept. 10 at headquarters in New Cumberland, outlining completed modernization efforts, an upcoming organizational realignment and a slate of awards recognizing service and valor across the enterprise.

Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Cotman, the DLA Distribution commanding general, and Deputy Commander Joe Faris addressed military and civilian employees joining in person and online from the agency’s 24 distribution centers. “What you do every day echoes around our nation and our world,” Cotman said. “You are committed to the mission, you know your purpose, which is supporting the warfighter and making sure they have what they need, each and every day.”

Leaders confirmed the full fielding of the Warehouse Management System across all 24 sites and said attention is now turning to sustainment, data quality and standardized processes. Cotman framed the next phase around fiscal 2027 audit readiness: “Deploying WMS across all 24 sites was a monumental undertaking involving hundreds of thousands of labor hours from our frontline teams,” he said. “Now our main effort in fiscal 2027 is clear, achieving a clean financial audit. We will use audit compliance as our forcing function to mature WMS, enforce internal controls, standardize workflows across every center, and ensure reliable, repeatable execution.”

Over the past year, all distribution centers supported geographic combatant commands, processing more than 102,000 material release orders, including about 95,000 high-priority requisitions valued at $1.45 billion. Recent operations cited by leadership included rapid palletizing and staging at DLA Distribution Yokosuka, operational ration shipments from DLA Distribution Europe to U.S. Central Command, and hazardous material packaging at DLA Distribution Anniston, Alabama.

To tighten links between headquarters and the field, leaders previewed a command-and-control restructuring targeted for fiscal 2027. Instead of all 24 sites reporting directly to headquarters, DLA Distribution plans four mission-aligned directorates: OCONUS Readiness Center Europe & Africa/Central Command; OCONUS Readiness Center Pacific/Northern & Southern Command; Army/Navy Industrial; and Air Logistics Complex/Fleet Readiness Center. Each will be led by a director with dedicated analysts focused on site advocacy and issue resolution. “This structural optimization is about removing administrative hurdles and providing our field commanders and directors with dedicated advocates at headquarters,” Faris said. “The goal is simple, accelerate decision-making, secure necessary resources faster, and give our frontline teams the direct support they deserve.”

The town hall also highlighted workforce achievements. Leaders recognized David Olenick, a supply management specialist at DLA Distribution Headquarters, for 50 years of federal service. Olenick began in 1976 as a GS-04 clerk and advanced to GS-13, contributing to the U.S. Treasury’s first direct-deposit program at the former Defense Depot Mechanicsburg, resolving $187 million in Navy inventory discrepancies, and helping design the Material Processing Center architecture used in current fleet operations. “It is not often you have the opportunity to stand beside someone who has dedicated five full decades to serving our nation,” Faris said. “Dave Olenick’s career is the very definition of selfless service and innovation. He has spent a lifetime bridging the gap between high-level logistics and the teammate on the warehouse floor.”

Four service members assigned to DLA Distribution Bahrain were honored for actions during hostile activity in the region. Navy Cmdr. Joshua Langhorne, the unit’s commanding officer, received the Bronze Star Medal after directing the relocation of critical Material Processing Center equipment and non-essential personnel to a secondary facility ahead of hostile fire, safeguarding people and securing medical and repair parts before enemy ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial systems struck primary warehouses.

Three enlisted leaders also received decorations for their roles in maintaining operations under threat. Air Force Master Sgt. Shaneka King earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal for coordinating emergency evacuations during missile strikes, protecting more than $2 million in mission-critical assets and maintaining accountability across two continents. Air Force Staff Sgt. Scott Price received the Joint Service Achievement Medal for sustaining logistics support to 63,000 personnel, 1,700 weapons systems and 32 naval vessels; coordinating cold-chain and material processing relocations 48 hours before incoming strikes; and expediting priority geospatial mapping shipments. Army Sgt. Robert Tucker Jr. received the Joint Service Achievement Medal for managing the relocation of material processing functions without interrupting capability and maintaining 48-hour turnarounds on priority assets.

Additional recognition included the DLA Director’s Strategic Goals Award for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to Langhorne, Navy Logistics Specialist 1st Class Rolando Flores, Army Staff Sgt. Shakhan Richardson and Joseph Nguyen. Third-quarter DLA Military Awards went to Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 William Cook (DLA Distribution Susquehanna), Navy Lt. Juan Sese (DLA Distribution Pearl Harbor, Hawaii), Air Force Master Sgt. Brandon Miller (DLA Distribution Headquarters) and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kimberly Abadesco (DLA Distribution Yokosuka, Japan).

Leadership also reviewed the 2025 Defense Organizational Climate Survey results. Workforce participation rose to 31% from 18% in 2024, with reported gains in cohesion, leadership trust and organizational connectedness, and fewer incidents of workplace hostility. Cotman linked those trends to recent initiatives, including $92.6 million in midyear labor and overtime adjustments, expanded supervisory training and equal-opportunity instruction. He encouraged employees to take part in the fiscal 2027 survey, scheduled for Oct. 26 through Nov. 30. “Your feedback drives tangible policy changes, decisions and organizational adjustments,” Cotman said. “As we look ahead to fiscal 2027, our focus remains on our people, our precision, and our commitment to delivering decisive logistics support to the warfighter, wherever and whenever the call comes.”