Defense Logistics Agency
The Defense Logistics Agency's crest
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1961 |
| Headquarters | Fort Belvoir, Virginia |
| Employees | 26,000 (2010) |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | www.dla.mil |
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense, with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. Located in 48 states and 28 countries, DLA provides supplies to the military services and supports their acquisition of weapons, repair parts, and other materials.
Since its founding in 1961, DLA has been an integral part of the nation's military defense. It has also provided crucial relief to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian aid to those in need.
The origins of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) date back to World War II, when America’s huge military buildup required the rapid procurement of vast amounts of munitions and supplies. During the war, the military services began to coordinate more extensively when it came to procurement, particularly procurement of petroleum products, medical supplies, clothing, and other commodities. The main offices of the Army and Navy for each commodity were collocated. After the war, the call grew louder for more complete coordination throughout the whole field of supply—including storage, distribution, transportation, and other aspects of supply. In 1947, there were seven supply systems in the Army, plus an Air Technical Service Command, and 18 systems in the Navy, including the quartermaster of the Marine Corps. Passage of the National Security Act of 1947 prompted new efforts to eliminate duplication and overlap among the services in the supply area and laid the foundation for the eventual creation of a single integrated supply agency. The act created the Munitions Board, which began to reorganize these major supply categories into joint procurement agencies. Meanwhile, in 1949, the Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (Hoover Commission), a presidential commission headed by former President Herbert Hoover, recommended that the National Security Act be specifically amended so as to strengthen the authority of the Secretary of Defense so that he could integrate the organization and procedures of the various phases of supply in the military services.
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