Philly-based DOD agency provides meals, blankets, generators to FEMA for Sandy relief

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support continues to supply urgently needed items to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the federal government assists people in states affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Employees at DLA Troop Support, located in northeast Philadelphia, have been working tirelessly to meet the material demands of FEMA in support of this effort.

More than three million meals have been delivered and five million more are scheduled for delivery to several FEMA sites by Nov. 7. Approximately fifty power generators and 150,000 blankets have arrived at or are on their way to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a FEMA staging area in central New Jersey.

"I'm so impressed with the tenacity and urgency our folks are exhibiting in support of hurricane relief efforts," said DLA Troop Support Acting Commander Navy Rear Adm. Patricia Wolfe. "Troop Support has ready access to so many urgently needed resources like meals, blankets and generators, and we're working with FEMA to bring those to bear to help the tens of thousands of people who really need them."

Wolfe is deployed to the joint base with Joint Task Force Civil Support, the Defense Department entity coordinating DOD support for FEMA recovery efforts. Three more DLA Troop Support personnel are also working with the task force.

The Subsistence supply chain has delivered 500,000 meals to the joint base, 1.5 million to West Virginia and 500,000 to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. One million meals are set to arrive at Fort Hamilton, also in Brooklyn, today, said Subsistence Deputy Director Tom Daley.

Subsistence arranges meal deliveries through vendors capable of producing 660,000 meals a day within 24 to 48 hours' notice, and 1.2 million meals a day within 72 to 96 hours' notice.

Representatives from DLA Troop Support's Subsistence, Medical, Clothing and Textiles, and Construction and Equipment supply chains have been working tirelessly in the command and control center to fulfill FEMA and U.S. Northern Command requests.

C&E's deputy director said every minute counts when providing disaster relief supplies.

"Our team is working to provide supplies as fast as possible," said Anthony D'Ambrosio. "The time it takes us to fill a generator order can make the difference in how long it takes to get power to people who have been without it for more than a week."

C&E has provided generators that are now powering a dozen gas stations.  More are in the works.

Jim Catanzaro, a Medical logistics specialist, provided sourcing analysis to the Army and the Department of Health and Human Services while working in the CCC during the weekend.

"Responding to contingency operations is what we do best," Catanzaro said. "Being called into work on Saturday was a small request for the overall support that will be provided."

With a potential nor'easter threatening New York City Nov. 7, C&T is ready to provide cold and wet weather clothing, said C&T Customer Operations Director Gary Colello.

HHS requested 250 types of medical items Nov. 5, including hypothermia protection kits. Additionally, six X-Ray machines are headed to JB MDL.

DLA Troop Support supplies America's armed forces with $14 billion annually of food, uniforms, protective equipment, medicine and medical supplies, repair parts and construction and equipment.  Its history, rooted in Philadelphia, began in 1800 with the construction of the Schuylkill Arsenal before the Civil War.

As a Department of Defense combat support agency, DLA provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate, from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies more than 80 percent of the military's spare parts.

Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., DLA has about 27,000 employees worldwide and supports nearly 2,200 weapon systems. For more information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil, www.facebook.com/dla.mil or http://twitter.com/dlamil.

SOURCE Defense Logistics Agency