United States
Australia
United Kingdom
Europe
New Zealand
Canada
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Wallace H. Robinson Jr., who steered the Defense Supply Agency through a post-Vietnam drawdown while expanding its global reach and modernizing its supply systems, will be inducted into the Defense Logistics Agency Hall of Fame on May 7.
Robinson served as the fourth director of the Defense Supply Agency, DLA’s predecessor, from 1971 to 1975. Taking command as the Vietnam War was winding down, he managed significant personnel cuts—an 8.3% workforce reduction in 1970 and another 5.4% in 1971—while elevating the agency’s role overseas. He created Defense Subsistence Regions in Europe and the Pacific, assumed worldwide responsibility for bulk petroleum, and established the Defense Property Disposal Services in Battle Creek, Michigan, to handle global property disposal.
Backed by DLA Chief of Staff Karyn Runstrom’s nomination, Robinson is credited with pushing major automation initiatives, including the Defense Fuels Automated Management System, with the same rigor he brought to the Standard Automated Materiel Management System. Those efforts cut back orders by half and raised stock availability from 78.9% to 89.9%.
During his tenure, he also represented the agency amid the release of the Pentagon Papers, which had been taken from a RAND Corporation office under DSA security oversight. Runstrom said the agency’s reputation today as a reliable, efficient partner reflects the foundation laid under his leadership.
After leaving DSA, Robinson served as commissioner of the Federal Supply Service and later led the National Security Industrial Association. He died in 2013 at the age of 93.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the McNamara Headquarters Complex auditorium on Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is open to all DLA employees and does not require invitations.
