Technical proficiency, outstanding leadership and management skills form the bedrock of Demetrius McKinney's professional career. McKinney, a supervisory management specialist and chief of Supply Operations Division for U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command Logistics Center (ALC), developed his supply management talents on active duty in the Army and as an Army civilian.

During six years in the Army as a supply specialist, a couple of years as a supply technician at Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, and 14 years of federal service in various positions across ALC, McKinney continuously expanded his experience and worked to master all aspects of inventory management.

"Throughout his career, Demetrius has consistently led by seeking innovative methods and solutions to problems across ALC," said Sheryl Ford, ALC's associate director, Materiel Management Directorate. "He has an exemplary ability to assess situations and determine the best process to resolve issues."

Recently, McKinney and his team joined forces with other AMCOM divisions to devise a plan to reduce a backlog of 1,500 lines of suspended stock. The group, led by McKinney, identified process improvements and assigned roles, responsibilities and resources that reduced the backlog of suspended stock by 1,434 lines valued at $147 million. It was just the type of logistical challenge that pushes McKinney to excel.

"I enjoy being a part of the ALC team, working with logistics professionals, solving complex supply issues on a daily basis to support our warfighters' needs," said McKinney, who hails from Sylacauga, Alabama. "I enjoy the opportunities afforded me as a supervisor. Every day I have the opportunity to motivate and inspire people to excel in their careers while identifying innovation solutions to meet the Army's needs."

According to Ford, McKinney's detailed knowledge and understanding of inventory management policies and principles enable him to lead his team and achieve significant improvements in inventory levels.

"As a result of his leadership, the process and policy improvement in support of inventory management has led to increased accuracy rates for AMCOM commodities at Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) depots," Ford said. "The Fiscal Year 2019 annual DLA audits on AMCOM's aviation commodities passed with the highest score to date - 98.4 percent."

As AMCOM and ALC leaders push for higher and higher audit compliance numbers, McKinney continues to champion data cleansing/data integrity efforts. He accelerated efforts to clean-up aged Stock Transport Orders (STOs) and Undelivered Orders (UDOs) by forging a strong relationship with the weapon system teams, according to Ford.

As a result of this collaboration, McKinney's team cleared 90% of STOs - more than 11,000, and almost 85% of UDOs - over 4,000 orders. Combined, these efforts cleared more than $4.6 billion in erroneous or invalid orders across the Army. That money can now be applied toward other priorities to improve Army readiness. The team's efforts were so successful that Army Materiel Command mandated all AMC major subordinate commands adopt AMCOM's procedures for clearing STOs and UDOs.

The continued innovation and success displayed by McKinney was formally recognized during the 28th Annual Ernest A. Young Logistics Achievement Awards ceremony in November. Mckinney earned top honors in the management/executive category. He sees this award as one of his civilian career highpoints.

"There have been many highlights in my 18-year career. However, I must say the pinnacle would be the nomination and recognition by my peers as one of the top logisticians within ALC," McKinney said.

"His innovative ideas and techniques have put ALC on the path for continued success," said Ford. "His talents and dedication to Army readiness are exceptional. Demetrius, like so many of the professionals across ALC, keeps his focus on the Soldier in the field and makes sure they have what they need to accomplish their mission."

According to McKinney, he and his coworkers work hard every day to ensure warfighters are supported.

"And it's just an honor to work with the men and women of ALC - they are the backbone of what keeps the Army strong." McKinney said.