“Challenges are bridges of opportunity” was one of the exciting phrases that guest speaker U.S. Army Colonel Josielyn Carrasquillo, commander of Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) las Americas Region, used during her presentation.
Col. Carrasquillo, who is responsible for operations from Alaska to Argentina, was invited as a guest speaker in late February to the Joint Logistics and Security Assistance (JLSAC) 1-24 course at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) to provide an overview of DLA. This course contains several education modules, including a portion on logistics and security assistance. International officers from the Western Hemisphere attend the course to learn about joint logistics operations and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and procurement processes.
The DLA’s role is to serve as the executive agent for subsistence, construction, and barrier materiel, medical materiel, and hazardous waste disposal, as well as the integrated materiel manager for all bulk petroleum. The DLA provides spares and reparables for weapons systems and manages a global network of distribution depots that receive, store, and issue a wide range of commodities. The DLA also supports U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) operations and exercises such as PANAMAX and Fused Response. The DLA has six major subordinate commands: Troop Support, Land and Maritime, Aviation, Energy, Distribution, and Waste Services.
With her dynamism from the opening of her speech, Col. Carrasquillo caught everybody’s attention, keeping each student and faculty member present focused due to her deep knowledge of DLA. The experience acquired during her years as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army serves as a bulwark to her expertise in this rigorous, dynamic, and evolving field of sustainment and logistics through different echelons: strategic, operational, and tactical.
Joint doctrine and field manuals are excellent for studying these organizations that comprise the Joint Logistics Enterprise (JLENT). However, this knowledge is amplified when listening to the experiences, challenges, and achievements during feats and assignments in these institutions. Col. Carrasquillo has command for the second time within the DLA, the first time being the commander of the DLA Energy – East. During that assignment, she worked to establish opportunities by creating bridges of opportunities and eliminating the challenges brought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Caribbean island countries and territories. Thanks to her collaborative impetus, today, the DLA has expanded its capabilities for operations in non-continental U.S. territory.
Such stories, which strengthened her knowledge, serve as a reminder to continue her work, and educate both international officers attending JLSAC 1-24 from Panama, Paraguay, Honduras, and Ecuador as well as U.S. military officers.
Her presentation culminated with students and faculty presenting her with a Certificate of Appreciation. In return, she gave the course director a green bottle opener challenge coin shaped as a barrel with a silhouette of the Western Hemisphere, with a very particular meaning. During World War II, Col. Carrasquillo said, the best oil was kept in green barrels, while the bottle opener serves as a reminder to keep opportunities and reasons to live opened.
“One team, one fight, one family,” Col. Carrasquillo concluded.
Major Ricardo Rivera is currently assigned as the JLSAC Course director at the WHINSEC Ft Moore School of Professional Military Education (SPME), Department of Civil Military Studies (DCMS) in Georgia. He is an officer in the logistics branch of the U.S. Army. He holds the skill identifiers of Instructor (5K), Strategist (6Z) and Contract Operation Support (OCS)- (3C).