DLA Troop Support mentorship bridges a six-hour time gap across continents

A cross-continental mentorship effort linking Defense Logistics Agency Information Technology and DLA Distribution with coaches from DLA Troop Support is being credited with streamlining a recurring workflow and offering a template for building a more resilient, data-driven workforce across the enterprise.

The initiative, described as a first-of-its-kind collaboration, grew out of a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt class in Kaiserslautern, Germany, led by DLA Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement office. Participants zeroed in on a weekly task, mapped out inefficiencies and variation, and developed a scalable framework that blends Lean techniques to cut waste with Six Sigma tools to reduce variability—aimed at helping personnel make decisions based on data rather than assumptions.

“You can’t let logistics become an excuse. We knew that for this to work, our coaching had to be a reliable, steady presence, not an afterthought,” said Deputy Coach Alec Fixl from the CPI Office at DLA Troop Support. “It meant being adaptable and recognizing that the traditional 9-to-5 workday didn’t apply. We organized by building a schedule based on the needs of the project, not the convenience of our calendars.”

With a six-hour time difference separating the teams, leaders leaned on flexible schedules, late-day coaching sessions and tightly managed review checkpoints to keep information flowing. Project lead John Race, a DLA IT supervisor supporting DLA Europe & Africa, said the remote guidance helped convert classroom concepts into operational impact. “The expert coaching I received from the team in Philadelphia was critical for turning theory into a lethal capability. It gave me the confidence to tackle ingrained inefficiencies,” explained John Race, a DLA IT supervisor supporting DLA Europe & Africa who led the project. “They provided the digital framework and the sounding board I needed to validate my findings and develop a solution that was not only effective locally but robust enough to enhance readiness across the entire enterprise.”

The partnership formalized progress through Lean Six Sigma tollgate reviews with Race’s champion, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Renae Renken, commander of DLA Distribution Center Sigonella, and sponsors Jimmy Siminario Martinez and Christopher Witter. DLA Troop Support coaches facilitated the checkpoints to maintain data-driven oversight and keep the work aligned with the agency’s top priority: Warfighter readiness.

“When we took on this project, we saw it as an opportunity to prove that DLA Troop Support’s commitment to the Warfighter is a global effort, not confined to our own walls,” said Max Ayala, the DLA Troop Support Continuous Process Improvement chief, and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. “This was about investing in our people agency wide. Our CPI team in Philadelphia provided the expert guidance that is essential for shaping the global workforce to meet future challenges.”

“My role as Champion was to ensure top-level support, but it was the DLA Troop Support team that provided the foundational expertise and coaching structure to strengthen our leadership bench,” stated Renken. “They demonstrated that with a solid process and dedicated mentorship, we can empower our people to create the meaningful, data-led change that is a battlefield imperative.”

Officials say the result is a streamlined workflow that frees local teams to focus on higher-priority missions and a repeatable process other DLA activities can adopt. The collaboration underscores an agency-wide push for shared solutions across headquarters, subordinate and regional commands—an approach leaders contend strengthens the entire enterprise along with the Warfighter it supports.