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CAMP SHIELDS, Japan — The Defense Logistics Agency restored on-island command oversight for its Okinawa fuel mission on Aug. 12, reinstating a local commander to manage the infrastructure that underpins U.S. military operations on the island and across the wider Indo-Pacific.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael McFadden took the helm of DLA Energy Pacific Okinawa, a move intended to push decisions closer to the people and facilities that keep fuel flowing. “Being here allows us to make decisions immediately when something is wrong,” said McFadden. “It also gives General Gallemore a chance to talk directly to a military member in uniform for issues or questions he’d like solved right away.”
The shift follows a June 2025 realignment that had placed the Okinawa mission under DLA Energy Japan. Before that consolidation, the local team moved more than 120 million gallons of aviation and maritime fuel, supporting over 10,000 U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps sorties and 220 ships.
DLA Energy Pacific Okinawa runs the agency’s only overseas Defense Fuel Support Point directly managed by DLA, with storage capacity exceeding 50 million gallons. The site relies on offshore receipt systems and undersea pipelines to bring fuel ashore and distribute it around Okinawa’s bases and ports.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, who commands the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, underscored the operational stakes. “The DLA provides critical support infrastructure to the 18th Wing to not only generate, but sustain combat power in support of the combatant commander’s needs,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, 18th Wing commander. “Having this partnership between the 18th Wing, Team Kadena and DLA is absolutely instrumental and integral to our success in any type of operation.”
By reestablishing a commander on Okinawa, DLA Energy aims to speed responses to local requirements and tighten coordination with the 18th Wing, joint partners and other organizations that depend on the island’s fuel network.
Officials said the result should be a more agile command focused on a fundamental requirement of military operations: making sure fuel is available when and where it is needed.
