DLA Troop Support convenes Joint Subsistence Policy Board, Global Summit to advance modernization, theater readiness

Operating under the theme "Optimizing the Subsistence Supply Chain to Support Future Operations," military food service leaders and strategic logisticians gathered at Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Oct. 20-21, for the annual Joint Subsistence Policy Board and Global Summit.

The two-day executive forum brought together subsistence logisticians from each of the military departments and combatant commands, Office of the Secretary of War stakeholders, and research partners to evaluate global subsistence support, refine theater concepts of operation, and advance digital modernization.

Codified under Department of War Manual 1338.10, the board meets annually to provide policy, guidance, and direction for the DOW Food Service Program.

"The JSPB provides an opportunity to meet in person with all the services to understand their needs, collaborate on important issues, and plan for future support," said Sean Gemmell, director of Customer Operations for DLA Troop Support Subsistence.

DLA Troop Support Commander Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Kelly, opened the proceedings by thanking guests for their leadership and outlining the purpose and priorities of the meeting.

"Looking across this room, I see the strategic leaders who bear the responsibility of sustaining every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, and guardian who wears the uniform," he said. "Our purpose today is straightforward: to set the conditions for mutual success. We are here to challenge assumptions, align our operational posture, and ensure that our joint warfighters remain in exceptionally capable hands."

Kelly also emphasized the operational demands facing the joint logistics enterprise and the direct link between subsistence and combat capability in contested environments.

"(Subsistence) is combat lethality, and our acquisition posture will ensure it is sustained during a period of contested logistics," he said. "How we sustain forces in day-to-day competition cannot be a fragile model that degrades the moment crisis breaks out."

Kelly also underscored the need for customer collaboration during ongoing digital transformation initiatives, noting that operational agility depends on data precision and active service participation during testing and adoption.

The opening day focused heavily on technology modernization, featuring live demonstrations of the updated Subsistence Total Order and Receipt Electronic System, STORES 2.0, and the new Joint Food Management Analytics application. Presenters from attending organizations detailed current and upcoming acquisitions designed to enhance customer support across both garrison and operational environments.

Gemmell noted that while these modernization efforts address different facets of the supply chain, they share the unified goal of upgrading infrastructure to improve support to service members.

"Our legacy STORES system has been in place since the '90s, so it was long overdue for an upgrade and will modernize DLA's system for ordering and receiving food items to enhance efficiency, user experience, and security," he said.

During the JFMA demonstration, Jacob Slotnick, Subsistence Integrated Support Team chief, explained that the application operates as a digital platform designed to optimize supply chain management through analytics, visualization, and automation in accordance with DOW Directive 5101.10.

"The goal of JFMA is to essentially facilitate the creation of dashboards that combine predictive decision making, modeling and simulation, CCMD readiness and transit visibility," he said.

Built for both DLA and its military customers, the platform delivers real-time data to improve transparency and support informed decision-making to improve vendor contract management, and operational rations oversight.

The board also reviewed broader program developments, including an assessment of combat feeding capabilities and shortfalls presented by the U.S. Army Capabilities Development Command. Additionally, representatives from each military service delivered updates outlining the future state of food service across their respective services.

On the second day, protected discussions centered on operational support to combatant commands, reviewing regional concepts of support and evaluating lessons learned from recent real-world contingencies, including multi-command contract leverage and distribution strategies during Operation Epic Fury.

The summit concluded with enterprise leaders reinforcing joint alignment as the foundation for future operations.

"The event set conditions for continued collaboration and synchronization with our food service partners across the Joint Logistics Enterprise," Gemmell said. "The action items captured from this event will be a focus moving forward for Subsistence and helps to ensure we are aligned with our customer's priorities."