Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Rutgers
University in 1979 and a master’s degree in national security resource strategy from the Industrial College of the
Armed Forces in 1995.
Estevez spoke recently with DC VELOCITY Group Editorial
Director Mitch Mac Donald and Editor at Large Steve
Geary about the challenges the Department of Defense currently faces.
QCan you help our readers understand the scale of DOD logistics?
ALast year, fiscal year 2009, we probably spent about $190 billion in logistics support for the Department of
Defense. That included moving equipment, people, and
supplies—everything from a bottle of water to a repair part
for an Apache helicopter or an MRAP [mine-resistant
ambush-protected vehicle] or the MRAP itself.
QIs there a large government logis- tics support infrastructure?
AWe operate 19 [government] main- tenance facilities throughout the
United States, where we fix equipment
when it comes back from the fight. The
logistics support infrastructure also
encompasses 25 Defense Logistics
Agency supply depots around the world,
including one in Kuwait that is completely focused on sustainment for Iraq
and Afghanistan.
QWhat else is included in that $190 billion?
AThat number includes the money we spend with our partners in the commercial sector
who also fix that equipment, and it includes repair parts.
We manage over 5 million line items—part numbers or different SKUs, in commercial parlance—and of course millions and millions of parts underneath those stock numbers. We are also buying everything from gloves and uniforms to food and petroleum. A good chunk of those dollars are spent in direct support of Afghanistan and Iraq.
QHow big a role do commercial carriers play in the DOD supply chain?
AAbout 50 percent of what we move in the air goes on the tail of a plane that says “U.S. Air Force” on the
back, a C- 17 or a C- 5, and about 50 percent goes on com-
mercial aircraft. We try to find the right airplane for the
right mission at the right time. All of these carriers will
have a commitment to provide us with those planes in
times of need.
QIs it the same for sealift?
AWith sealift, probably 80 to 85 percent of what we move goes commercial. All sustainment cargo goes
commercial, so it is going into a 20-foot or 40-foot container. It may be coming from the United States or it could
be coming out of stocks in Germany, Japan, or Korea.
We have a great relationship with the American sealift
and American-flag carriers. The U.S. Transportation
We also are using roll-on roll-off carriers to move military equipment.
QIs there a military sealift capability?
AWe have an internal organic [gov- ernment-owned] sealift capacity of
our own, the Military Sealift Command,
which we maintain in a state of readiness. That means in a time of emergency,
for example, on day one, I could load out
a brigade combat team from Fort Hood
through the Port of Beaumont [Texas].
QWho actually operates the DOD supply chain?
AOur multiple commands and military services are exe- cuting. The U.S. Transportation Command and the
Defense Logistics Agency are the primary two joint executors. Then each combatant commander manages logistics
underneath it, and then the military services actually execute the logistics structure for their forces, so it is a massive,
massive process.
QHow does the drawdown in Iraq compare with its counterpart in the first Gulf War?
AIf you do it as a comparison with Desert Storm, there was more stuff to bring home from Desert Storm. We
