Senior Enlisted Leader looks back on time at DLA before departing

Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Alvin Dyer is retiring after a 30-year career with the service.

Dyer, who has served as Defense Logistics Agency's senior enlisted leader since August 2023, said now is the time for the next generation of leaders to step up and take the reins.

"I've had this saying, 'pull as you climb.' So as you continue to climb, you pull somebody along," he said. "I think we've pulled along some great leaders. It's time for the next chapter of great leaders to take the helm and take this agency to greater heights and into the next era."

Dyer, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, described his time at DLA as adventurous.

"It truly was an amazing, eye-opening experience for me. It's something that I'm glad that I was able to experience in my career," he said.

He said he learned about the different professional cultures within each supply chain and major subordinate command by visiting the sites and meeting the workforce.

"The people are so eager and happy to tell you about their jobs, and the pride and joy they have," said. "It's amazing to hear the stories and how much pride people have in the work that they do and the accomplishments they made, not only to their supply chain, but to DLA and the warfighters."

Dyer said he used that information to help improve communication throughout the entire agency and plan for its next transformational era.

"Strategic messaging was huge," he said. "Here, it was always about communication and being sure we get the right, relevant and truthful information to the workforce, and dispelling any rumors that may be out there."

A 30-year career with the Air Force

"There's this saying, 'The reason why I joined isn't the reason why I stayed,'" he said.

He joined the Air Force because he said he knew he wanted to do something bigger with his life.

"Service has always been a part of me," he said. "I would serve in church or serve at school, so it was a natural fit for me to join the military, and particularly the Air Force."

Service in the Air Force transformed from being about the mission to being about the people.

"It was about serving alongside awesome women and men who were doing awesome things to make sure that our nation was always protected," he said. "Those are the things that kept me being relevant for the last 30 years. I always say when I stop being relevant, then it's time for me to go."

Being the 'eyes and ears' for DLA directors

When Dyer started at DLA in 2023, Navy Vice Adm. Michelle Skubic was the agency's director and the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to wind down. Employees were returning to the office more frequently, and Dyer encountered many rumors and misinformation as he talked to employees.

"Being the eyes and ears, I was coming back to informed (Skubic) what we needed her attention," he said. "I was able to get out there and get ahead of a lot of the information that was being pushed out. I always wanted to make sure that whatever information that the workforce was getting was true and relevant."

Working with current DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly meant keeping an eye on what was going on beyond DLA.

"As Lt. Gen. Simerly always says, the services are changing their tactics and procedures, and the combatant commands are changing as well," he said. "Under his direction, I was being not only the eyes and ears within the agency, but the eyes and ears outside the agency."

DLA is built to change

DLA is built to be ready, Dyer said, and it's the agency's people who make it happen.

One important action the agency made is participating in global exercises with combatant commands and the military services.

"It won't be an afterthought when the balloon does go up, or when a crisis does happen. We will already know those synchronizations between the combatant commands and the services, so we will be ready to 100% combat support agency for the warfighter," Dyer said.

Contested logistics is very broad, and we won't know how contested we really are until the nation is in a conflict, he said.

"We're going to rely on a lot of partners and people. That is what contested logistics is all about," he said.

Looking forward to retirement

Dyer said getting some rest is first on his retirement agenda.

"For the last 30 years, I've had multiple assignments, deployments, temporary duty assignments. I've traveled the world," he said. "Now I get the chance to rest a little bit, relax, enjoy the simple things that are all around me that I've probably taken for granted, and spend time with my family and friends."

For those considering joining the military, he said it's a great career choice.

"Know what you want to do, which is difficult sometimes because you don't know if you're going to be doing it for the next four years or the next 20 years," he said. "Be authentic, be true to who you are. Learn as you go. Learn from teammates. Learn from all of the different walks of life of people you're going to run in to because you're going to run into some amazing people."

A message to the workforce

"We're built to do this, and this is our time," he said. "What you have done for the nation thus far has been amazing. As we move to the next phase of what may happen, know that we're built to do this. It's about our legacy. It's about our time.

"We're ready to do this, so let's get going. Warfighter always."