Marine Corps Logistics Command Albany, GA -- Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Sustainment Sean J. Burke visited Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany Feb. 10 and 11. During his two-day visit, Burke met with senior leaders and toured Marine Corps Logistics Command and MCLB Albany facilities.
“The Logistics Command down here is an essential element to the Marine Corps’ readiness and I came here to see what they’re doing … and how they’re doing it,” Burke remarked.
The DASN serves as the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition on all matters related to the planning, budgeting and execution of sustainment and supply chain activities of the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.
The DON stood up the new DASN office Oct. 2019.
“My job is to help improve the way that we plan, budget and execute all of the Department of the Navy sustainment missions,” Burke added.
Burke met senior leaders at the base including Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Shrader, commanding general, MARCORLOGCOM and Leonard Housley, executive director, MCLB Albany before touring several facilities.
The tour consisted of a demonstration of MCLB Albany’s Facility Related Control System, Marine Depot Maintenance Command’s additive manufacturing capability and a robotics demonstration with Marine Force Storage Command.
Burke commented on the work that he saw during the visit.
“The first takeaway I think was forward leaning. What I saw today was really impressive in terms of thinking everyday … about how the folks here can improve the way the Marine Corps’ fleet is supported,” Burke said. “It starts with the fleet so the requirement that comes from the Marine Corps about what the equipment they need and where they need it and what state they need it in is where you start from and you flow it back from there. And you do it the way these folks are doing it.”
Burke mentioned MARCORLOGCOM’s workforce is thinking critically about what they do to improve the products provided to the fleet.
“(The workforce) is doing things from a basic blocking and tackling perspective of understanding where we currently are and where we need to be based on the fleet requirement,” Burke added.
Key topics of discussion during the visit included health of the facilities located at MCLB Albany, the workforce and the challenges that MARCORLOGCOM faces when completing their mission.
Burke remarked everything done in the Navy and the Marine Corps can be improved and echoes DOD’s current mantra, which focuses on how we increase the velocity across everything that we do.
“You do that by injecting new technologies (and) that’s happening all over the place around here in warehousing, inventory control, 5G (program) … how do we use data to make decisions … These folks are getting after those kind of things,” Burke said.
In addition to the visit to MCLB Albany, Burke will travel to Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida to wrap up his trip.