Media Center | Defense Logistics & Support

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) recently published its Digital Strategy 2025–2030, outlining the agency’s critical focus areas and supporting initiatives for industry partners over the next five years.

IDGA had the privilege of interviewing Adarryl Roberts, Chief Information Officer at the DLA and the lead architect behind this digital strategy. In this exclusive conversation, Mr. Roberts shares how the agency is aligning with the DLA Strategic Plan, the National Defense Strategy, and other broader Department of Defense strategies to provide a framework that supports long-term growth and innovation.

On April 9, President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base.” The order includes several directives for DoD leadership intended to reform the “antiquated defense acquisition system” and establish new processes that will speed and scale procurement to establish a military edge. The order was the first in a series of actions from the White House that will reshape the defense industrial base in the US.

Read the latest report from IDGA to gain insights into President Trump's executive orders and their impact on the defense industry.

The US DoD is the federal government’s largest agency employing over 2.8 million active military service members and civilian personnel. In order to keep both military and civilian personnel equipped to complete their duties effectively, the DoD relies on the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to manage the global defense supply chain.

This report will look at the work the DLA is doing in 2025, including a glimpse at the challenges they face, and the various supply chains the organization is responsible for, but first, it’s important to take a step back and understand how the agency was formed.

Delivered by Brigadier General Stefan Lampl, Commander of the Austrian Forces Logistics School, Austrian Armed Forces at our 2024 Defense Logistics & Support Summit, this presentation delves into:

• Why supply chain disruption is no longer temporary but the new normal, and how militaries must adapt to operate in contested environments
• The Austrian Research Project; a resilient military logistics project on the basis of a digitized and autonomous supply chain
• Why military logistics and military supply chain management is crucial for the success of military operations and military readiness
• and so much more!

The 'Contested Logistics and Demand Reduction' presentation was delivered by Colonel Chris Vitale, Director, Army Operational Energy and Nuclear Power Planning, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment at IDGA's Operational Energy Summit. His presentation delves into:

• Operational Energy as defined by the army
• The line between Operational (OE) & Installation Energy (IE)
• Strategic, operational, and tactical energy in previous conflicts
• Overview of demand reduction, and how it can be done effectively
• OE focus areas to mitigate impacts of contested logistics .... and so much more!
  

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted the critical interplay between energy and warfare, shaping global security in the 21st century. In Sparking Lines: Energy and Russia’s War on Ukraine, Sharon Burke examines energy’s pivotal role in the conflict, from Ukraine's disconnection from Russia's power grid to the deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure, revealing how energy functions as both a strategic tool and target in modern warfare.

Burke analyzes Russia’s use of energy to further geopolitical ambitions, Europe’s shift away from Russian energy, and Ukraine’s struggle to maintain its grid under attack. Originally published by the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), the whitepaper also explores broader vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure in an increasingly interconnected world.

IDGA’s Defense Logistics & Support Summit returned to the D.C. area this past September for two-days of thought leadership discussion around the future of multi-domain combat and the impact of technology-driven defense logistics.

2025 marked the conference's seventh year and proved to be the largest iteration yet, with over 270 attendees representing the U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations, and industry. The conference was a great success thanks, in large part, to support from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), whose top leaders steered conversation in the session room and maintained a welcoming presence in the exhibition hall.

Seven months earlier, IDGA’s 17th Operational Energy Summit took place in Bethesda, Maryland. The two-day event brought together 200+ operational and installation energy leaders from the US DoD, DoE, allied military, industry, and academia to discuss the current state of military energy and the path forward. The 2025 version of the event focused on a range of topics that included addressing the emerging threat landscape, contested environments, the role of innovative technology, and the challenges and gaps in defense energy to ensure support of military operations.

Now, in 2026, the two stand-out IDGA conferences will be combined into the Defense Logistics & Energy Summit. The two-day summit taking place September 22-23 in Reston, Virginia, will bring together the logistics and energy communities under one roof to discuss the future of defense logistics, procurement, operational and installation energy, and much more.

Before the conference, IDGA has created this report highlighting both the Defense Logistics & Support (DEFLOG) and Operational Energy conferences. We will look at key takeaways, on-site survey results, attending organizations, and a chance to meet the chairman of the 2026 Defense Logistics & Energy Summit.

Interested in seeing who attended the IDGA 2025 Defense Logistics & Support Summit?

Take a look at the attendee snapshot, featuring the senior thought leaders from the US Department of Defense, allied nations, and industry, who joined us in 2025, many of whom are expected to return in 2026!

View the Defense Logistics & Support 2026 - Sponsorship & Networking Prospectus, and explore:

• 2025 Expert Speakers
• Producer's welcome
• Who to expect onsite
• Sponsorship Opportunities