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The Defense Logistics Agency Europe and Africa held a ribbon-cutting ceremony
July 24 at its new facilities on Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern.
The ceremony marked the end of a journey that started more than two years ago as preparations began to relocate all DLA elements from the American Arms Office Tower in Wiesbaden to Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, a distance of approximately 60 miles.
Renovations to the new DLA campus were completed early this year.
The buildings’ interiors were completely gutted then renovated to include new flooring, wiring, heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
The new 35,000-square-foot DLA campus, consisting of five buildings, is now home to DLA-E/A Headquarters, Defense Energy Support Center Europe and Africa, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia – European Region, Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service – Disposal Service Directorate Europe, DLA Enterprise Support – Europe Legal, J6-Europe, Office of Accountability, Document Automation and Production Service and forward presence personnel.
This new facility houses activities that were previously dispersed throughout the Wiesbaden and Mainz-Kastel communities.
“It was no easy task to coordinate and execute the relocation of more than 200 personnel and their families to our new home at Kleber Kaserne, but as one team, you worked together to achieve 100 percent mission success, without once losing focus on our customers,” said Linda Ward, the DLA Europe and Africa deputy commander, in her speech to almost 200 people who attended the grand opening.
Customers now consist of 140,000 military and government civilians, five flying wings, five combat brigades and three joint task forces, Mrs. Ward said. These customers are also scattered along 31 million square miles encompassing 104 nations and spend more than $6.5 billion in annual sales.
“In placing all of the European field activities in one central location, we are now able to provide our customers with true one-stop shopping for their logistics needs,” Mrs. Ward said. “It has also given our team members the golden opportunity to more fully coordinate our efforts with each other and with our customers.”
Mrs. Ward cited the establishment of a true Joint Logistics Operations Center and Fusion Center and the consolidation of four Local National Works Councils into one as examples of this expanded teaming success.
“It is great to see the DLA folks here as one family,” said Kim Huntley, Defense Energy Support Center director, who added that the synergy the co-location will now provide in support of a central customer base. “We have a huge mission ahead of us.
All of you will aid in safely withdrawing our troops and retrograde 685 million tons of material from Iraq and who knows how to do that better than the European Command Theater?”
Jennifer Abel, DLA Enterprise Support-Europe site director, noted that the ongoing partnership between the DLA activities and headquarters, and the Installation Management Command Europe and the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern led to the success of the relocation.
“Everyone had an important role to play in the implementation of this effort,” she said. “We put aside individual and organizational preferences to pave the way for a seamless, timely and effective relocation.”
