I’ve shared with you in an earlier blog post (dated December 29, 2009) that a primary responsibility of the Life Cycle Logistician is to translate warfighter performance requirements into tailored product support spanning a system’s entire life cycle.  Given that rising operations and support (O&S) costs not only risk jeopardizing new systems acquisitions, but also affect readiness, as one of our expert Performance Learning Directors here at DAU recently reminded me, it is imperative that the Life Cycle Logistician constantly seek to a) reduce the overall demand for logistics, and b) provide required logistics support in the most effective and efficient manner possible. I agree. This is our duty and responsibility, as Life Cycle Logisticians, as taxpayers, as government employees, and of course, as Americans. What do you think? Does this make sense? What am I missing?

It is also important we be prepared to clearly articulate and share these perspectives with those who are unfamiliar with what we do, or may not yet understand the value proposition of the Life Cycle Logistics career field.  To assist you in this endeavor, DAU offers extensive Life Cycle Logistics training and related learning assets, not only for members of the acquisition workforce assigned to acquisition coded positions, but also to other DoD, US government, and DoD industry personnel as well. In addition, if you’re looking for a way to more clearly explain the career field to your non-logistics colleagues, a reminder that DAU offers a web-based continuous learning module (CLM) CLL004 "Life Cycle Logistics for the Rest of Us," which outlines the basics of the Life Cycle Logistics DoD acquisition career field, along with the roles and responsibilities of a Life Cycle Logistician. Additional information can be found at https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=297518&lang=en-US.