Joe Yoswa
Director of Public Affairs, Defense Logistics Agency
Joe Yoswa earned an undergraduate degree in secondary education from the University of Minnesota. He earned an M.S. in Science and Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University.
He has held a number of public relations positions with the Veterans Administration, for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, and for Contingency Operations at Four Governments Group. He was Director of Media Services Division for the Army’s Soldiers Media Center.
He has served as the Director of Public Affairs of the Defense Logistics Agency since 2014.
In the News…
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, a number of Western nations banned the import of Russian oil. New reports have surfaced that a refinery in Greece, that serves the U.S. military, receives and processes Russian oil via a circuitous shipping and trade route through an oil storage facility in Turkey.
The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) handles fuel purchases for the U.S. military. DLA spokesman Joe Yoswa said the agency has “no knowledge” of fuel from Russia being routed to its Greek supplier. He said the agency’s contractors “are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations concerning business with Russia and Russian companies” and “must certify their compliance with such laws and regulations as part of the acquisition process.”
He said there is only so much the Pentagon can do to police its suppliers. “Tracing origins for a specific delivery of refined product would be difficult or impossible,” he stated.
Under current sanctions, facilities in Turkey are permitted to accept fuel from Russia. The Greek refiner is not. The Greek refiner has been a key Pentagon supplier for some years.
“The U.S. military has not done its due diligence on the origin of its oil,” said an analyst for a nonprofit group that tracks the flow of Russian oil. “It is not hard to see where it is coming from.”
