DLA Energy Aerospace spearheads AI training to boost digital readiness

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s Aerospace team has launched an artificial intelligence training pilot in San Antonio, Texas, positioning the organization as an early mover in the agency’s broader push to modernize its workforce.

Run entirely in person and built on Franklin Covey instructional material, the pilot aimed to help employees pair human judgment with AI tools to improve day-to-day operations and decision-making. Forty-four personnel took part in two tracks: 35 employees completed “Working With AI: Essentials for Working Smarter Together,” and nine supervisors attended “Leading AI Adoption: Accelerate AI Impact Through Empathy and Action.”

“The training supports DLA’s broader effort to build a digital-ready workforce capable of using data, analytics, and AI to improve mission performance,” said Ditu Kasuyi, chief of the DLA Energy Acquisition Workforce Development Division.

Leaders said the effort aligns with initiatives championed by DLA Chief Information Officer Adarryl Roberts to bolster supply chain resilience by anticipating constraints, projecting demand, and surfacing pre-qualified alternatives during disruptions.

Classroom exercises focused on practical, hands-on applications that paired human expertise with AI. Employees used structured frameworks to analyze real scenarios, while supervisors concentrated on leading teams through technological change with empathy and clarity. Officials emphasized that AI should augment, not replace, skilled practitioners responsible for context, risk assessment, and final decisions.

“I worked closely with Ditu Kasuyi and Shonda Rizo to bring this training to San Antonio,” Smith said. “The DLA director has kept us laser-focused on data acumen and AI, making this course the perfect opportunity to raise the baseline of understanding across our entire staff while equipping our leaders to guide the transition.”

“This technology is part of our workflow now, so it is vital we learn to leverage it early,” Smith said.

Program leads also cautioned against common pitfalls that can undermine results, including the rise of “shadow IT,” siloed efforts, and overreliance on unverified AI outputs. Leaders underscored that employees remain responsible for the accuracy and quality of their work and that structured guidance is essential for effective adoption.

“The AI adaptation training has completely changed my workflow,” said Keosha Cobbs, a customer account specialist for cryogenics at DLA Energy Aerospace. “Now, instead of being purely reactive, I can be proactive. For instance, when a customer emails us requesting certain processes, I can use the AI tool to gather templates to make the customer response more professional and seamless.”

“The biggest time saver with AI is having a readily available, high-quality, editable draft in hand for your common daily practices,” she said.

Beyond office tasks, officials see near-term uses for AI, drones, and advanced sensors to support inspections and predictive maintenance at Defense Fuel Support Points, freeing personnel for higher-priority logistics work.

To sustain momentum, the coursework asks employees to start with mission outcomes, identify where AI can extend capacity, pinpoint where human expertise is indispensable, and then combine both for better results.

“The AI approach that Franklin Covey takes is not a technical approach; it is a human being approach,” Kasuyi said. “People were able to connect to that and not get caught up in the tools. It’s really about the principles and concepts that apply to any platform. That type of knowledge and flexibility helped to provide clarity, reduce anxiety, and increase usage.”

Aerospace Supplier Operations has also created an internal “AI Tiger Team” to spread best practices, deliver targeted instruction on prompt engineering, and introduce staff to GenAI.mil, a centralized AI tool and resource hub.

“This training emphasized that because technology is evolving so rapidly, we have to move out and learn by doing,” Smith said. “Our AI Tiger Team initiative was incredibly successful and generated a lot of excitement among our employees. We are currently adapting this training to share with other offices, and depending on their feedback, we may expand it across the rest of DLA Energy.”

The Acquisition Workforce Development Division is coordinating with other DLA Energy organizations to scale the coursework across the enterprise.

“Our goal is to move from scattered AI tool usage to a strategic, AI-enabled workforce,” Kasuyi said. “When one team finds a responsible way to use AI to improve the work, we have to capture that win, share it, and help the rest of the organization learn from it.”