Procurement mission at Hill transfers to DLA

  • Published
  • By Debra Bingham
  • Defense Supply Center Richmond Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  A June 17 activation ceremony at the Hill Aerospace Museum marked the transfer of 43 Air Force employees to the Defense Logistics Agency here.

The employees, mostly contracting officers from the 448th Supply Chain Management Group, procure depot-level reparable aviation parts for Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base.

They will officially begin working for the Defense Logistics Agency June 22.

Congress mandated the transfer of depot-level procurement responsibility from military service aviation depots to DLA as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure legislation.

Under that same law, Ogden Air Logistics Center will also transfer supply, storage and distribution functions to the agency in July, with 232 more Air Force employees moving to DLA; most of the transferring employees will continue at their present jobs.

"This is an opportunity for joint strategic contracts; to reduce the number of tactical buys and increase the number of strategic buys," said Pamela Day, who will serve as the chief contracting officer for depot-level reparable procurement at DLA. "Strategic buys combine tactical buys and give more leverage power with suppliers and more stability in the supply chain as well as lowering resources and the cost of items."

Yvette Burke, a member of the Senior Executive Service and the chief acquisition executive at Defense Supply Center Richmond, will oversee the depot-level reparable mission for DLA. The Richmond site is the aviation supply and demand chain manager for DLA. Ms. Burke called the transfer of people and functions a milestone event, and said the activation represents a joint effort between the Air Force and DLA.

"To the transferring employees, we welcome you and we value your expertise," Ms. Burke said. "We do not and will not take you for granted. Depot -level reparable items are essential to helping our customers maintain mission readiness.

We must make sure that when customers need depot-level reparables that we work to ensure they get the parts they need," she said. "Part of providing the support they need is communicating with them on a regular basis, briefing them on the status and it requires us to help them with forecasting their needs."

DLA officials visited Hill AFB in December 2007 to meet with Air Force Materiel Command officials and kick off BRAC activities there. The activation of DLA Ogden next month will be the third instance of an AFMC air logistics center implementing the BRAC supply storage and distribution mandate. DLA Warner Robins stood up in October 2007, and DLA Oklahoma City in February.