Welcome to the NEW Council of Logistics Engineering Professional (CLEP) monthly newsletter!

This new format is one example of CLEP’s evolution to meet the expanding need of defense industry Logistics Engineers. Over the last year, our board spearheaded multiple initiatives to deliver dramatically improved professional development opportunities for our membership. These initiatives included establishing a professional development webinar program, modernizing the CLEP website, and formalizing a Life-Cycle Logistics certification program. As the first newsletter of this year, I would like to walk you through our major changes.

Professional Development Webinars

After several months of planning, we launched our first “Lunch N’ Learn” webinar in May 2020. Dr. Lucas Marino (CLEP Board of Advisors) presented “The Two Sides of LORA: Economic / Non-Economic Analysis”. This was very informative and highlighted a lesser considered aspect of Acquisition Logistics. Since that first webinar our VP-Education, Vijay Chachra, and VP-Programs, Stephen Brunner, have organized a webinar every month. Our list of future topics and hosts continues to grow.

The webinars are extremely popular and offered free to CLEP members and non-members. All webinars are recorded, and CLEP members have access to view the webinars at their convenience through our archives. These archives, available on our website, form a growing body of knowledge of logistics practices from subject matter experts.

We are always looking for people to share their experiences. If you are interested in presenting a webinar, or added to our webinar announcements list, please contact our VP-Education, Vijay Chachra, at education@logisticsengineers.org.

Modernized Website

After nine months of hard work, we launched our new website in mid-January 2021. I led the design effort and was frequently assisted by Larry Devries (VP-Membership), Jon Hatch (VP-Administration), Vijay Chachra (VP-Education), and Bill Horn (President) for testing and feedback. The goal of our new website was to provide a platform from which to grow an active Logistics Engineering community of practice for the Defense Industry.

In keeping with design goals, members now have several features available to them. In addition to the webinar archives, our newsletter archives will soon be available to members only. We plan on offering technical articles in our newsletters, working with posted monthly themes, to continue growing our logistics body of knowledge.

Forums

Members can directly participate in growing our body of knowledge through the forums. By logging into the website, CLEP members may access the forums for professional discussions on issues that matter to them. While dedicated forums are new to CLEP, they are not new to the defense logistics industry. Prior to standing up our new website, the only forums for defense logistics professionals were on the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website.

Professional Blogging

CLEP members can also publish blog posts through their login membership accounts. All blog posts are reviewed by an editor for content and format. Once published on the website, member’s blog posts may also be published to our LinkedIn account, and posted to our monthly newsletter. This feature offers our members a unique opportunity to share their knowledge and get themselves known within our community. Our members also have an opt-in directory under their login profile for networking with other defense logistics professionals through CLEP.

I challenge members to post an article or open a thread in the forums for discussion. This is the place to put yourself out there and see who else is working through similar issues. For questions on the forums and blog posting, please contact me at communications@logisticsengineers.org.

CLEP Certification Program

Over the last year, Vijay Chachra (VP-Education), led an initiative to develop a certification program based off the DAWIA Life-Cycle Logistics Certification program. He was skillfully supported by Stephen Brunner (VP-Programs), Dr. Gerard Ibarra (VP-Operations), Dr. Lucas Marino (Board of Advisors) and Larry Devries (VP-Membership). Their work resulted in our new “CLEP Defense Industry Lifecycle Logistics Certification” program. This certification program also launched in mid-January 2021 with our website.

Our certification program is only available to CLEP members and offers real value in documenting professional experience. The program is designed to fill the need for certification requirements the defense logistics industry requires, but has not been available to most practitioners.

Our certification program is based on the DAWIA Life Cycle Logistics courses offered on the DAU website. Although we use DAU training courses, we are not formally affiliated with DAU. The DAU is aware of and accepts our certification program as it fills a critical gap between government and industry. Our President, Bill Horn, has provided extensive guidance on establishing boundaries between CLEP and the DAU, and in communicating with the DAU on the intent of our program.

First Certifications

I am happy to announce that we already have two CLEP members who have been awarded certifications. Our VP-Administration, Jon Hatch, has been awarded a Level II certification. Mr. Mike “Bo” Gourley has been awarded a Level III certification. Congratulations to both members!

Corporate Training Programs

CLEP is also encouraging our corporate members to promote their logistics training programs. We are currently working on a micro-credential program which will focus on using shorter courses to help fill critical skills. This micro-credentialing program will complement our broader certification program, and will be modeled after DAU’s Credential Program (https://www.dau.edu/training/pages/credentials.aspx). For more information on the Defense Industry Life-Cycle Logistics Certification program, or opportunities for training with our corporate partners, please visit our website at https://logisticsengineers.org/training/.

A Growing Organization

CLEP continues to add members to our ranks and has experienced significant growth over the last few months. Jim Martin (VP-Finance) has been doing a lot of work keeping our finances straight while Larry Devries (VP-Membership) has been spearheading efforts to effectively manage our membership base. Through all this Jon Hatch (VP-Administration), the newest member of our leadership team, has kept our leadership team straight through juggling multiple meeting schedules and organizing our growing body of documentation.

September Symposium

As we continue to grow as an organization, we are looking at holding a two-day virtual symposium, planned for September 8 – 9, 2021. Dr. Gerard Ibarra (VP-Operations) is leading the effort on this project and has put out a call for papers and presenters. If you are interested in presenting at this symposium, please contact Dr. Ibarra at operations@logisticsengineers.org.

Volunteer Support

With all these improvements, we are just getting started! If you would like to work with our leadership team grow CLEP into an industry-leading organization, please use our contact form at https://logisticsengineers.org/contact/ or reach out to Jon Hatch at administration@logisticsengineers.org.

Ron Charest
CLEP VP-Communications