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The Defense Logistics Agency is reorganizing how it plans, governs and communicates change as it pursues a broad modernization push while sustaining day‑to‑day readiness, according to a new overview from the agency’s Chief of Staff portfolio. Framing the effort around four “Transformation Imperatives” — People, Precision, Posture and Partnerships — DLA leaders say the headquarters staff is functioning less like a back‑office and more like an engine room for enterprise change that links strategy to measurable outcomes.
As the Department of War shifts toward protracted strategic competition, DLA Director LTG Mark Simerly has cast the agency’s mandate in stark terms: “DLA must think, act, and operate differently to provide innovative solutions for warfighting challenges.” The Chief of Staff portfolio — which includes strategic planning, transformation, legal counsel, legislative and public affairs, risk management and equal employment opportunity — is being positioned to translate that guidance into governance, policy, communications and oversight that reach across all major subordinate commands.
People. To manage the human side of transformation, DLA says safety and occupational health specialists are enforcing deliberate risk assessments — centered on the DD Form 2977 — before new technologies or processes roll out, while industrial hygienists conduct surveillance and recommend controls. The agency is using ESAMS to monitor mishap trends in near real time and is updating policies and training for emerging hazards like additive manufacturing.
Public affairs teams are pushing a multi‑channel internal campaign — including a relaunched Loglines, enterprise town halls, local portals, videos and social media — to explain what’s changing, why it matters and how it affects jobs, while equipping supervisors with common talking points to counter rumors. Equal employment opportunity officials have revamped reasonable accommodation procedures to support the return to in‑person work and trained more than 1,600 leaders to standardize actions and reduce compliance risk.
DLA also highlighted a two‑person chaplaincy that has expanded its “ministry of presence” in units undergoing the most disruption, providing confidential counseling, surfacing workforce concerns to commanders and helping tamp down rumors during reorganizations.
Precision. To tighten execution, the Transformation Office has consolidated a dozen governance bodies into a single Governance Council chaired by the Chief of Staff, a move the agency says cuts redundancy and speeds decisions. Working with the Director’s Strategic Initiatives Group, the team is using an automated system to track significant actions and maintain near‑real‑time visibility into progress.
A new “Vector” initiative replaces five‑year planning cycles with a rolling horizon model aimed at faster adjustments to threats. Structural reforms include standing up DLA Weapons Support by consolidating missions from the legacy Aviation and Land and Maritime commands, reevaluating the physical footprint and divesting non‑core programs. As those shifts unfold, DLA says it is coordinating with human resources on talent strategies — including a career brand and Talent Intelligence Hub — information operations on digital modernization under the DLA Digital Strategy, and finance on business cases to ensure initiatives are fiscally sound.
General Counsel attorneys are leaning into the Department of War’s Adaptive Acquisition Framework to speed capability delivery, advising on Middle Tier of Acquisition pathways, Software Acquisition Pathways, Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transaction Authorities. The legal team says it is supporting acquisition modernization, guiding Small Business Innovation Programs, and advancing legislative proposals tied to the Berry Amendment while operating as “partners in the process, not roadblocks at the end.”
Enterprise risk managers are embedding risk analysis into decision forums, leading an Enterprise Risk Working Group and applying lifecycle process management to map new workflows and sustain continuity as legacy systems are retired. The office is deploying standardized Risk and Control Matrix tools aligned with GAO standards and coordinating with information operations to harden digital transformation.
Posture. Nearly 2,000 installation management professionals are driving facility resilience projects and day‑to‑day sustainment, DLA said. The team executed the agency’s first “Black Start” Energy Resilience Readiness Exercise at the Defense Supply Center Columbus to prove it can operate off the commercial grid, then replicated similar drills at other hubs. In fiscal 2025, DLA reported spending at 170% of its sustainment, restoration and modernization budget to cut a backlog of critical repairs, including electrical upgrades at Defense Distribution Center Susquehanna.
On the threat front, DLA Intelligence and Security (J2) is increasing tempo with tailored briefings and topical analysis to inform posture decisions. A new “Program of Analysis,” modeled after an Army construct, is intended to align intelligence production with leaders’ priorities. The Counterintelligence Cyber Team is working inside the agency’s CERT fusion cell to connect intelligence with active network defense.
Partnerships. Legislative affairs staff are working Capitol Hill to secure funding and authorities, synchronize agency experts with lawmakers and shape the annual defense policy bill. Recent wins cited by DLA include audit relief for the Defense Working Capital Fund, preservation of Berry Amendment small‑dollar thresholds and streamlined disposal of National Defense Stockpile materials. The office credits close collaboration with the General Counsel and financial managers; DLA notes it received a clean audit opinion on a major fund, bolstering credibility with Congress. Looking ahead, the team plans to advance legislation tied to the Global Resilience Initiative to shore up the Defense Industrial Base.
DLA’s Small Business Programs office reported record contract dollars awarded to small businesses and expanded use of socioeconomic set‑asides. To lower barriers for new entrants, the agency launched a “Supplier Pathway Program” with automated tools to navigate federal contracting, and is tying small business outreach to digital needs and broader acquisition strategies.
Externally, public affairs arranged high‑visibility media appearances for senior leaders on platforms such as Fed Gov Today and Federal News Network and partnered with the SIG on the Decision Advantage video series to explain concepts like the “Human‑AI Advantage” to internal and external audiences. The aim, DLA said, is to maintain industry and public confidence during major shifts and signal demand that encourages domestic production.
Agency leaders stressed that the Chief of Staff portfolio’s role is integrative — aligning strategy, law, risk and communications — while operational directorates fund, execute and sustain changes across the enterprise. The model, they say, is designed to let DLA modernize “at the speed of relevance” without interrupting support to warfighters.
