Midnight mission: DLA Distribution logistician keeps fast-attack submarine underway

On Saturday evening, Sept. 26, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Deonta Braggs contacted DLA Distribution Susquehanna with the USS Albany's urgent requirement. Navy Lt. Geoff Wilds, inventory integrity operations officer at DLA Distribution Susquehanna, immediately synchronized communications between the submarine, the Priority Material Office, and Army Maj. Steven Cherubino, joint operations officer at DLA Distribution Susquehanna. Working alongside DLA's Customer Interaction Center, they elevated the requisition to Priority 2.

This triggered a call to Dakotah Crone, an Emergency Supply Operations Center general supply specialist and second-shift team lead. Home on his day off, Crone was alerted that the submarine had issued an urgent 'Not Operationally Ready, Supply' Casualty Report, known across the fleet as a NORS CASREP.

With the submarine working against a tight operational timeline, waiting until normal operations resumed Monday morning was out of the question. For Crone, answering the call outside duty hours was an immediate and personal imperative.

"My first reaction was how can I get the request fulfilled at such a late time on a Saturday night with such a close window for hand off the next day. I jumped into action and made the appropriate calls to engage the situation," Crone said. "While after-hours requests from my command team are rare, their urgent nature and tight timelines require us to immediately assess and dedicate the necessary resources to meet the warfighter's critical schedule."

Crone rapidly responded by coordinating directly with the submarine's command staff and a Navy transport team, who was already in transit, to set up a Sunday morning material turnover to keep the vessel on schedule.

Within two hours of receiving the call, Crone located and retrieved the asset from its location in the Eastern Distribution Center and conducted a material verification. He cross-referenced the physical item against the Material Release Order to guarantee full accuracy, then secured the component with protective packaging to safeguard the component during transport.

"When I took this job in ESOC, even before becoming the second-shift lead, I always treated every material order as if it was being sent to my youngest brother who recently finished up his service in the Army," Crone said. "All items I handle are important, and I ensure the highest quality of care is given."

Crone remained inside the distribution center until approximately 1 a.m. Sunday, completing all staging, documentation, and tagging so the handover could proceed without delay.

Early Sunday morning, the part was successfully transferred into the custody of Braggs and the courier team, keeping the Albany firmly on schedule for its operational requirements.

"This was indeed a team effort," Wilds said. "The ESOC team, particularly Mr. Crone, were the ones who acquired and prepared the material to support our partners. This is a showcase of how we operate as a team to support our joint military customers."

The seamless cross-organizational execution drew formal praise from fleet leadership. In a message to the team, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Safouane Lachgar, executive officer of the Priority Material Office in Bremerton, Washington, thanked the team for their rapid resolution.

"I know it was a very last-minute request, but you and your team made sure we got the part in a timely manner once you found out our requirement," Lachgar wrote. "This is greatly appreciated, and we thank you for your continued support of our mission to ensure the Fleet gets its critical parts expedited."

For Crone, the midnight effort underscored the foundational role Department of War civilians play in sustaining global warfighter readiness every hour of the day.

"Here at DLA Distribution Susquehanna, we hold warfighter support at the very core of our mission every day," Crone said. "We are all here to serve the people who put their lives on the line every day to ensure our freedom. As a civilian, it is our way of giving back and supporting the fight for freedom."