Eisenhower School students swap classrooms for cargo ports in hands-on industry study

Students at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy are taking their logistics education beyond the classroom, capping six months of instruction with a two-week field study that immerses them in the workings of ports, warehouses, transportation hubs and military logistics centers.

The field experience is part of 19 industry study courses that span sectors from microelectronics and aviation to shipbuilding and strategic materials. The curriculum is designed to prepare future senior leaders to assess domestic and international industries and better navigate the intersection of government and the private sector, said Stacey Pilling, the Defense Logistics Agency’s faculty chair at the school. “Reading about supply chains, distribution networks or strategic mobility provides theory, but visiting ports, warehouses, transportation hubs and military logistics centers allows students to see the complexity, scale and interdependence of the systems in real time,” Pilling said.

Pilling said the hands-on engagement exposes students to the operational realities of logistics and the coordination among people, technology and infrastructure, helping them think more strategically about the enterprise beyond their daily roles.

In the Transportation and Logistics Industry Study course, students examined how civilian supply chains respond to global demand and saw how classroom concepts translate to real decisions under real-world constraints, according to DLA student Kevin Phillips. “Being able to see how the ports, rails, trucking and warehouse systems are synchronized reinforced how interconnected those systems are,” he said.

A stop in Hawaii highlighted system vulnerabilities. Meetings with military commands and DLA regional leaders focused on contested logistics and theater sustainment, and students learned the island typically carries limited commercial inventory for residents. A surge in military operations that redirected port capacity could quickly strain the local economy—an example of how small disruptions can cascade into larger impacts.

Phillips said witnessing those dynamics reinforced DLA’s role as the integrator linking sourcing, storage, transportation and operational demand between industry and the military, and he expects the exposure to shape him as a more adaptive leader. “Supply is only as effective as the ability to move and deliver it,” he said. “This experience has provided a firsthand, clearer perspective of how DLA truly is the foundation for military operations and capability.”