Documentary on DLA’s COVID-19 support to air Aug. 15 in HQC conference room

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -

A new documentary that portrays how the Defense Logistics Agency became a leading character in the nation's COVID-19 response will premiere in the McNamara Headquarters Complex's Kabaiseman Conference Room Aug. 15. Viewings are scheduled for every half hour from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The 15-minute film follows the timeline of the agency's support beginning in early 2020 as the nation struggled with shortages of lifesaving medical supplies.

"We quickly set about coordinating with the medical distributors, with the medical industrial base, to understand what the nation could make domestically and where we were going to have to find it to meet our shortfalls," says Air Force Brig. Gen. David Sanford, a former DLA Aviation director assigned to the White House COVID-19 Task Force during the pandemic.

DLA was eventually called on to help supply personal protective equipment for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Health and Human Services. Even nursing homes received equipment sourced by DLA. DLA had a role in the worldwide distribution of test kits and vaccines, too.

"We had instilled confidence in the White House Task Force, in Health and Human Services, where it was 'Let's just add another requirement and give it to DLA,'" says Dave Kless, who headed the agency's COVID-19 Task Force before becoming DLA Energy deputy commander.

DLA video producer Jim Miller was inspired to create the documentary after reading DLA Historian Colin Williams' "Combatting the Coronavirus" paper, which he said opened his eyes to the many moves DLA made to support the nation.

"The whole of government had needs and problems during the pandemic, and DLA was the only solution in some cases," he said, adding that the film helped him better understand DLA and the acquisition tools it uses to provide supplies and services.

"DLA has a unique mission that the rest of the government doesn't really have the power to carry out," he said.

Miller added that he hopes the documentary he spent portions of nearly two years shooting and editing catches the attention of other federal agencies that might be able to use DLA capabilities in the future.

Producing a 15-minute film instead of the standard two-minute video was "going out on a limb," he continued.

"I'm a fan of Frontline on PBS because it shows you what happened behind the scenes and digs deeper. That type of storytelling doesn't need to disappear just because our attention spans are shorter," he said. "This product has enough strong content, as it's structured with interviews, a timetable, and graphs to take viewers back to the moment and keep them engaged."

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