DLA hosts inaugural Space Force Integration Day

The Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Space Force convened at DLA’s headquarters April 24 for their first “integration day,” formalizing a deeper working relationship on supply, sustainment and data-sharing as the space domain grows in complexity.

“We’re really excited about this opportunity to sit down with you to better understand the Space Force’s challenges, especially from a logistics standpoint, and identify actions that we can take to help mitigate those challenges,” DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly said during his opening remarks.

Both organizations are in parallel transformation efforts driven by increasing reliance on space and the risks that come with it. “Part of that risk is also driving our change across all domains, and that’s this contested logistics environment where our opponents understand that they can combat us by disconnecting us from our ability to sustain the fight,” Simerly said.

The meeting builds on a 2024 interagency agreement to align supply requirements. Simerly underscored that Space Force demands differ from the other services: “We know that there will be some unique requirements within Space Force, some of which we’ve already accounted for, many of which we have not,” he said. “We know that as we think about terrestrial launch and orbital requirement, there are some unique conditions under which you operate and unique requirements that we can and should be able to tailor support for.”

Since the agreement was signed, teams have focused on domestic production of hydrazine propellant, approaches to contested logistics, and maintaining high fulfillment rates in support of Space Force missions, said Air Force Chief Operating Officer Kathryn Kolbe. “We hope that portfolio of work that we do together will grow over time,” she said.

Discussion topics during the session included space launch operations, supply chain resiliency, and fuel production, storage and distribution. “Space launch, and space in general, is vital to the warfighter. But space launch is our mechanism to provide that support to the warfighter, so it’s extremely important that we look at alternative means to create resiliency in our supply chains that we all have concerns about together,” Kolbe said.

Simerly said DLA is overhauling its digital ecosystem to apply state-of-the-art estimation, analysis and decision-support tools, and to better synchronize with Space Force requirements. “As we think about this relationship, we’re also designing it to be aligned with your requirements and your information, so where it’s appropriate, we can better anticipate your requirements by being able to consume your data and share our data continuously with you,” Simerly said.

DLA hosted the inaugural Space Force integration day in tandem with Air Force Integration Day activities, capitalizing on the presence of Air Force Materiel Command personnel who support both services, said Gregory Ogorek, Space Force Senior Service Integrator for DLA. “The Space Force is an enabler across all services. Their role is constantly expanding with golden dome and other projects,” Ogorek said.

Service integration days typically review previously agreed action items and set new goals for the coming year. DLA and the Space Force are still finalizing their initial slate, Ogorek said. “Action items are still going through a refinement process,” Ogorek said. “We want to make sure that we’re able to get a clear, concise and achievable goals based on what senior leaders said, what is possible, and what meets the needs from both sides.”

Items under consideration include assessing DLA’s global distribution footprint for forward positioning of materiel in a contested logistics environment, sharing supply chain risk management best practices for contractor engagement, and exploring joint exercise opportunities. DLA plans to hold Space Force integration days annually, supplemented by additional meetings throughout the year. “The key takeaway is Space Force is definitely a growth industry. Their prominence and importance in the defense of the nation is expanding exponentially,” Ogorek said. “We’re happy to get right along with them as they’re going through these iterations as to how they supply that and perform those missions.”