Located in 48 states and 28 countries, DLA provides supplies to the military services and supports their acquisition of weapons, fuel, repair parts, and other materials.

Through other U.S. federal agencies, DLA also provides relief supplies to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian aid to refugees and internally displaced persons.

The seeds of the DLA were planted in World War II, when America's military needed to get vast amounts of munitions and supplies quickly.

The Eisenhower Reorganization Plan Number 6 (1953) abolished both this agency and the Munitions Board, replacing them with a single executive, an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Supply and Logistics.

It also recommended that a separate and completely civilian-managed agency be created with the Defense Department to administer all military common supply and service activities.

The solution proposed and approved by the Secretary of Defense was to appoint "single managers" for a selected group of common supply and service activities.

In each category, the single manager was able to reduce his investment by centralizing wholesale stocks, and to simplify the supply process by persuading the services to adopt the same standard items.

The initial catalog, containing about 3.5 million items, was a rough draft, full of duplications and errors, but it effectively highlighted the areas where standardization was feasible and necessary.

When Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara assumed office in the spring of 1961, the first generation of single managers were handling roughly 39,000 items by procedures with which the Services had become familiar.

On March 23, 1961, he convened a panel of high-ranking Defense officials, and directed them to study alternative plans for improving DOD-wide organization for integrated supply management, a task designated as "Project 100."

The agency's supply centers responded in record time to orders for everything from boots and lightweight tropical uniforms to food, sandbags, construction materials, and petroleum products.

But in 1966, thousands of portable walk-in, refrigerated storage boxes filled with perishable beef, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables began arriving in Vietnam, a logistics miracle.

One dramatic example of the agency's overseas support role was during the Middle East crisis in October 1973 when it was called upon to deliver, on an urgent basis, a wide range of vitally needed military equipment.

Another major mission came in July 1988 when, by presidential order, the agency assumed management of the nation's stockpile of strategic materials from the General Services Administration.

The act also directed the Office of the Secretary of Defense to study the functions and organizational structure of DLA to determine the most effective and economical means of providing required services to its customers.

The report emphasized improving management efficiencies in the Defense Department by "cutting excess infrastructure, eliminating redundant functions and initiating common business practices".

Soon after President George Bush announced the involvement of the U.S. military, the agency was at the center of the effort to support the deployment to the Middle East and later the war.

The quality of supply support that DLA provided American combat forces during these operations earned it the Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) in 1991.

The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process instituted in 1993 significantly affected the way the agency organized for its contract administration and supply distribution missions.

[17] Since its establishment in 1961, the agency has successfully standardized, procured, managed, and distributed DoD consumable items throughout the military services, thus eliminating wasteful duplication.

DLA also supports redeployments, including conducting battlefield cleanup such as removing equipment and debris and even hazardous materials.

[19] In the aftermath of earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters, DLA supports other U.S. federal agencies with supplies and personnel as requested.

For disasters affecting other countries, DLA primarily supports the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State, as well as the COCOMs of the U.S. military (e.g., U.S. Southern Command).

In 2005, DLA's domestic disaster support amounted to $409 million, with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita relief commanding the vast majority of the resources.

The response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was massive, and it spotlighted DLA's continuing, if increasing, role in domestic storm relief.

DLA provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with MREs and other supplies for evacuees and personnel fighting the October 2007 California wildfires.

In 2017, DLA assisted the FEMA in providing supplies and personnel to support relief to Americans affected by Hurricanes Harvey,[22] Irma[23] and Maria.

The 8.9-magnitude quake hit off the coast of Indonesia and triggered extremely large waves that brought massive flooding, damage, and loss of life in the region.

In 2014, civilian and military employees of DLA deployed to Liberia as part of Operation United Assistance, to help African countries deal with an outbreak of ebola.

[26] DLA has, at the instruction of the DoD and Congress, supported the provision of relief supplies to refugees and internally displaced persons in the Middle East.