Fueling the mission with jerry cans

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., July 8, 2026 -

Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services often serves as the end-of-line process for handling excess materials, but they can also provide a vital mission lifeline-enhancing warfighter readiness by redistributing useable military equipment back to the services through the Reutilization, Transfer, and Donation program.

U.S. Marine Corps' 1st Medical Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California, needed fuel containers to support the deployed I Marine Expeditionary Force, and discovered the items were on the DLA back-order list. Don Cassada, a management and program analyst for the DLA Disposition Services Reutilization, Transfer and Donation program, stepped in to locate, requisition and ship the sought-after fuel containers.

"Each day I would go through our inventory to find items that matched, and this was one of those special taskers that I took upon myself to try and figure out for the customer," Cassada said. First developed during World War II, the jerry can's original design featured durable handles, stackability, and an efficient pouring system that remains largely unchanged in today's high-density plastic versions.

Through a coordinated effort with field sites, Cassada sourced the fuel containers from DLA Disposition Services locations in Barstow, California; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and Kaiserslautern, Germany.

"I reached out to our field sites and explained this special project that I was working on and asked what kind of attention they could give us," Cassada said. "So, this became a very coordinated effort to get these items where they needed to go."

Had they not received the jerry cans from DLA Disposition Services, the Marines would have had to buy directly from a commercial vendor, with additional funds and costs needed for transportation of the products.

Cassada said the effort was a good test of DLA's ability to be a source of supply by fulfilling back-order items and supporting the warfighter. The RTD program serves as an alternative route when units encounter such delays that impact mission readiness. Engaging a disposal services representative or an RTD analyst allows units to leverage existing excess property, providing another avenue to locate and transfer the items they need.

"If they didn't have the jerry cans over there, they wouldn't be able to transport extra fuel and have the ability to travel farther than what their regular tanks allow," Cassada said. "This may be a tiny blip in the big picture, but this can be something much bigger for a warfighter who is trying to do their job and may be struggling to find the resources to do it."