The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) supplies the nation's military services and several civilian agencies with the critical resources they need to accomplish their worldwide missions. DLA provides wide-ranging logistical support for peacetime and wartime operations, as well as emergency preparedness and humanitarian missions.

Since its creation in 1961, DLA has grown to become a global logistics combat support operation. From its headquarters just outside Washington, D.C., DLA oversees a work force of more than 23,000 civilian and military employees who work in 48 states and 28 foreign countries.

It supplies almost every consumable item America's military services need to operate, from Meals Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to jet fuel. If America's military forces eat it, wear it, maintain equipment with it, or burn it as fuel, DLA probably provided it. DLA also helps dispose of materiel and equipment that is excess or unusable.

DLA has supported every major war and contingency operation of the past four decades, from the Vietnam War to operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and other contingency operations throughout the world. In Fiscal Year 2008, DLA provided more than $42 billion in goods and services to all military services worldwide, including significant support to both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. That support included food, clothing, medical supplies, weapon systems repair parts and goods and services for humanitarian relief efforts. DLA continues to refine its ability to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of its military customers. DLA's Support Teams are consistently among the first to respond to the needs of forces deployed around the world.

Items managed: 6.4 million - eight supply chains
Requisitions per day: 114,000
Contract actions per day: 11,200 (new awards and modifications to existing contracts)