DLA vice director tours DLA Distribution San Joaquin

TRACY, Calif -

Defense Logistics Agency Distribution San Joaquin hosted an installation tour April 16 for DLA Vice Director Brad Bunn in conjunction with the DLA Installation Management Spring Off-Site, at which Bunn served as the keynote speaker.

Jonathan Mathews, DL Installation Management San Joaquin site director, said such visits provide senior leaders information they need to make decisions that affect employees many miles away.

"I strongly encourage them to come out and tour our site to understand the unique capabilities we can offer to the warfighter and our whole-of-government partners," Mathews said. "In my mind, this will allow them to make fully informed decisions because they have been here, seen our capabilities and talked to the outstanding workforce that enables us to excel in all the mission sets we receive."

Bunn noted customers "often take for granted the things that we do in support of their mission." He added it's helpful to "walk the floor and see the mission come to life."

The vice director also said DLA Distribution San Joaquin plays a critical role in prepositioning stock and helping the agency deal with contested logistics challenges.

The visit included a stop at DLA Distribution's warehouse for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency's Medical Maintenance Operations Division. The warehouse is one of only three and the only one on the West Coast.

"It's an amazing mission," Mathews said. "They do the maintenance on the imaging equipment that is used for X-raying, CT scanning and providing MRIs to wounded warriors."

A portion of the tour was led by Marine Corps Col. Kevin Chunn, installation commander for DLA Distribution San Joaquin. The center's proximity to nearby ports and Interstate 5 sets it apart from other DLA Distribution centers, he said.

"Fifty miles to our west, almost exactly, is the port of Oakland. Just to the northwest is the aerial port for Travis Air Force Base," Chunn added. "There are things, based on our location, that we do that other folks just aren't going to be able to do as well as we can."

The Unitized Group Rations warehouse, the lone facility responsible for kitting together the meals that feed up to 50 deployed warfighters each, and the F-35 North American Regional Warehouse, are also unique to DLA Distribution San Joaquin.

Bunn described the agency's new four-prong framework for transforming warfighter support. It includes people, precision, posture and partnerships. He also talked to the local workforce about contested logistics, results of DLA's Culture and Climate Survey, audit efforts and the health of the working capital fund.

Along the tour, Bunn awarded his vice director's coin to several employees:

• Isaac Newman, director of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency
• Alvino Diaz, laborer at the Unitized Group Rations warehouse
• Timothy Stewart, supervisor for hazardous storage
• Gordon Hitchcock, security specialist for DLA Intelligence
• Annette Silva, executive officer for DLA Installation Management
• Amarjeet Kahlon, energy manager for DLA Installation Management
• Jeanine Borges, management and program analyst for DLA Installation Management
• Stephanie Jimenez, program management analyst for DLA Disposition Services

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