This month’s SUPPO in the Spotlight LT Jasmine Guerrero currently serves as the Department Head of Supply Operations (SUPPO) on board the USS Porter (DDG 78), homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. LT Guerrero, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, commissioned through the Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, in September 2016. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University and a Master of Arts in Procurement and Acquisitions Management from Webster University.
LT Guerrero grew up familiar with military life due to her father’s service in the Air Force. While pursuing her master’s degree, her classmates - who were retired service members and a professor who was a former Supply Corps Officer - influenced her decision to submit for OCS. Based on positive mentorship and shared experiences, she submitted her OCS package for the Navy Supply Corps.
In her current role as SUPPO, she oversees critical divisions, including Logistics Support Center, Food Service, Retail Sales, and Disbursing, which supports a crew of 330 sailors.
LT Guerrero’s career includes both ashore and operational assignments. Her shore assignments consist of being an assistant Integrated Logistics Support Director at Newport News Naval Shipyard and Current Operations Officer at NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk. Her operational assignment includes Sales Officer, Disbursing Officer, Material Officer, and HAZMAT Officer aboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6) in Sasebo, Japan. She is also qualified as a Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer, a Naval Aviation Supply Officer and has completed the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I.
LT Guerrero's roles have progressed over her career. In the initial stages, her focus was on learning about the various divisions and publications. As her career advanced, her focus diverted to her sailors’ well-being and how the mission should be accomplished. She mentions that “key responsibilities for the Supply Officer on Board a ship are material support, logistical support, and food service support.” She further elaborated on the importance of fostering teamwork, communication, and collaboration. In her current role, she encourages weekly meetings with the divisional leadership, ensuring discussion surrounds command priorities to anticipate needs from the triad and other departments. She said that passing all information to leadership and encouraging two-way communication within the department will strengthen great unity.
LT Guerrero believes that learning to anticipate needs, communicating effectively, being adaptable and collaborating with peers and sailors are the most critical skills a Supply Officer needs to master the Supply Officer craft. She also emphasized the importance of keeping abreast and staying up to date with the latest trends and developments in the Supply Chain Management by reading the monthly Supply OP Drumbeats and utilizing the E-SUPPO app for latest news flashes. Communicating with mentors and peers on current events are also ways to stay in the know.
LT Guerrero encourages Junior Supply Officers who aspire to reach senior leadership to always remember to stay humble, ask a plethora of insightful questions, schedule office calls and seek mentorship opportunities from senior leaders. She highlights the importance of trusting and empowering the team across all ranks, recognizing that everyone plays a crucial role in the mission's success.
LT Guerrero finds great satisfaction in witnessing her sailors' promotions. However, looking ahead, she identifies that a significant future challenge for Supply Officers is the manning shortfall. A Supply Officer's success is dependent on having enough trained sailors to execute the Navy's mission.
In her current position, LT Guerrero faces great challenges: time constraints, long lead times, and material unavailability. These issues directly impact the ship's ability to conduct its mission. To overcome these obstacles, LT Guerrero employs two main strategies: engaging with item managers at Material Processing Centers and reaching out to other Supply Officers across the waterfront for assistance. By leveraging these connections and resources, LT Guerrero works to mitigate the impact of supply chain challenges on mission readiness.
As an example of quick thinking and resource utilization, LT Guerrero shares a real-world crisis that she faced a mere 16 days before the start of a mission: a refrigerant leak ruined all the ship's provisions. She immediately contacted waterfront SUPPOs and coordinated with Operational Support Officers (OSO) to get the leak fixed quickly. She then facilitated the immediate restocking of the ship, which allowed the mission to commence successfully. Her swift action and quick utilization of her resources highlighted her ability to leverage Navy supply chain networks effectively. She implores young Supply Officers to develop connections, know available resources and be able to utilize them when situations arise.
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2025 08:42 |
| Story ID: | 493838 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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