DLA’s Joint Reserve Force deploy in support of hurricane recovery efforts

Four members of the Defense Logistics Agency Joint Reserve Force were instrumental in ensuring 21 million meals, ready to eat, and over 300,000 gallons of fuel were distributed in support of the hurricane recovery efforts from North Carolina to Florida.

The JRF contains 663 reservists who are mostly senior military officers and noncommissioned officers from every military service assigned to the DLA major subordinate commands.

"We can flex people all over the world to provide support to hurricanes, contingency operations, major exercises and wartime missions as well," Division Chief for Operations and Training Army Lt. Col. William Sloane said.

The reservists deployed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Incident Support Base Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Sept. 29. While deployed, the reservists served as liaison officers to assist DLA Energy Task Force Americas and DLA Distribution. They reported relief requirements to the Agency Synchronization Operations Center in support of the Hurricanes Helene and Milton recovery efforts.

Members of DLA's JRF also worked with FEMA to process trucks and trailers and delivered disaster response supplies to the impacted areas.

Forty-eight hours prior to Hurricane Helene making landfall and days before team received the requirements and request for support from FEMA and Joint Task Force Civil Support, Sloane and his counterpart, Navy Reserve Program Director Lt. Cdr. Joshua Todd, worked together behind the scenes to ensure they had 10 personnel available and ready to support the hurricane recovery efforts.

"The first reservist was deployed in response to Hurricane Milton within 24 hours of receiving requirements for support. After Hurricane Helene made landfall, three JRF members were deployed within 48 hours," Todd said.

Sloane added that the members of the JRF often volunteer for these types of assignments because people want to participate in whatever the agency is doing. He also said that there are times when his team doesn't have enough volunteers, triggering MSC and regional commanders to task a representative to provide support.

To determine a right fit, Sloane said mission requirements are reviewed by his team, then the LNOs are selected by pay grade based on the level of work required, military training and experience, to include their civilian education and past work.

"Reservists have professional careers, so they bring to the fight that skillset that maybe the military does not offer," Sloane said.

Todd said the process to apply for these volunteer opportunities is relatively easy for interested Army Reserve soldiers because DLA handles the administrative process for them. However, the process for Navy reservists interested in volunteering requires a few extra steps.

"For the Navy, we depend on reserve centers where the reservist is assigned to process and approve the orders," he said. "We write the requirements, while the service member writes the orders, and the NRC has to approve everything, so there are a lot of levels of effort that go into getting a Navy reservist out the door."

Sloane said his team works with reserve recruiters and retention teams at each of the military services to fill JRF positions. He says his team shares DLA's mission and brochures about this unique joint opportunity within the agency, but most people learn about the program through word of mouth.

"We also advertise on a couple of different sites like the Army's Tour of Duty and the Navy's Zip Serve," he said. "Typically, a tour of duty can be for 180 to 400 days of active-duty orders for a reservist. We will post the requirements on the website to get a pool of candidates. There they can apply and go through an interview process, to determine best fit and availability."

Reserve service members interested in being a part of the JRF can reach out to the DLA Joint Reserve Force Team or check the respective service careers platform for future assignments.