Eastern Distribution Center

The Eastern Distribution Center (EDC), located in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Harrisburg, is home to the largest distribution facility operated by the United States Department of Defense. It is managed by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and is part of the Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna (DDSP), which includes the operations of the nearby Naval Support Activity (NAVSUP) in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

History

This military installation was originally built in the latter stages of the First World War under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but currently serves as a consolidated management and logistics center based upon a restructuring pursued in the 1990s.^[1]

In April 1990 Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney directed that all the distribution depots of the military services and DLA be consolidated into a single, unified material distribution system to reduce overhead and costs. The consolidation began in October 1990 and was completed March 16, 1992. The system consisted of 30 depots at 32 sites with 62 storage locations, which stored over 8.7 million spare parts, subsistence, and other consumable items worth $127 billion in 788 million square feet (73 km²) of storage. Until September 1997, two regional offices - Defense Distribution Region East in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and Defense Distribution Region West in Stockton, California, managed a vast network of distribution depots within their respective geographic boundaries. They later merged into the Defense Distribution Center, New Cumberland. The name of the facility was later changed to the Eastern Distribution Center.

Also under DDC’s auspices is the Defense Distribution Depot, Susquehanna, PA (DDSP), which includes operations of the nearby Naval Support Activity (NAVSUP) in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.^[2] DDSP is the largest of the 24 depots and supports a customer base that includes Europe, North Africa, Central and South America, Southwest Asia and the eastern half of the United States. DDSP is also the site of the Eastern Distribution Center, which is the largest automated warehouse in the Department of Defense. Tenants at DDC’s New Cumberland base include all branches of the Armed Forces.^[1]

See also

• Defense Logistics Agency

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cumberland County Military Installations". Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation. 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2007-02-01. 
2. ↑ "DDSP Installation Page". Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2007-02-01. 

Further reading

• Scot J. Paltrow (November 18, 2013), "Faking It: Behind the Pentagon’s Doctored Ledgers, a Running Tally of Epic Waste", Unaccountable: the High Cost of the Pentagon's Bad Bookkeeping (Reuters) (2)  — The "second installment in a series in which Reuters delves into the Defense Department’s inability to account for itself." Reports on the Eastern Distribution Center.

External links

• Defense Distribution Depot Susquehanna (DDSP)

Coordinates: 40°12′34″N 76°50′15″W / 40.20944°N 76.83750°W / 40.20944; -76.83750

Military installations of Pennsylvania Department of Defense Logistics Depot Susquehanna DSC Philadelphia Army Barrack Carlisle Depot Letterkenny Tobyhanna Fort Fort Indiantown Gap Plant Scranton College Army War College Marines Air Station NASJRB Willow Grove Navy Naval Air Station NASJRB Willow Grove Depot NAVSUP Air Force Air Reserve Station Pittsburgh ARS Willow Grove ARS National Guard Army Fort Indiantown Gap Muir Army Airfield Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site Air Fort Indiantown Gap Harrisburg Johnstown Pittsburgh Willow Grove Coast Guard Station Erie Philadelphia