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THOUGHTS ON LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION IN AN EARTHQUAKE’S AFTERMATH
AN INTERVIEW WITH FEMA’S KENNETH MURPHY
By James Marconi Director of Public Relations, NDTA
When the office building in southeast Washington, DC, began to sway, my first reaction was confusion. A few seconds later, rational thought kicked in and belatedly I accepted that yes, I was experiencing an earthquake.
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake notably damaged the Washington Monument and National Cathedral 1 , among other buildings. Like many people that day, I had difficulty calling 2 family via my cell phone to let them know I was okay. The less said about my long Metrorail ride home, the better.
Though earthshaking, the 2011 quake wasn’t quite earth-shattering, at least not on the scale we typically associate with San Francisco or Japan. 3 And then there is the Cascadia subduction zone, which I first learned about in a Pulitzer Prize-winning piece succinctly, and appropriately, titled “The Really Big One.” 4 Since I live on the East Coast, I didn’t fixate too long on the devastating potential for the Pacific Northwest. But it’s a small world, as they say, and in June I learned a bit more at our Washington, DC Chapter’s monthly luncheon. The presentation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) assistant administrator for logistics gave a 50,000-foot overview of the agency’s transportation and logistics considerations in disaster planning, including the Cascadia subduction zone. Being both personally curious and professionally obligated, I requested an interview with Kenneth Murphy, FEMA’s Regional Administrator for Region X. If there’s one person in this country who has to think deeply about what an earthquake and tsunami combination would mean for the Pacific Northwest—and how to respond—it’s Murphy. The phone interview below is edited for length and clarity:
Defense Transportation Journal: To start with, can you provide some basic background information on your responsibilities as the FEMA Region X administrator? Or to phrase that another way, what does a typical day in your life look like?
Kenneth Murphy: I’m a regional administrator, appointed by the president. There are 10 regions in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and I’ve got Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska and 271 tribal nations. Our mission is to support our citizens and first responders, and to ensure as a region and as a nation that we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capabilities to prepare for, protect against,
Impacts are very, very difficult to determine. I think it’s safe to say that the impact would probably be unlike anything that we’ve ever seen before. There will be power outages, and a certain amount of roads, bridges, tunnels and different transportation modes that will be totally or partially inoperable. I think we’ll see those buildings that are old and were not built to the current building codes partially or fully collapsed. And then we’ll have a lot of secondary disasters like broken gas lines and broken water mains.
respond to and recover from all hazards. I’ve got a very large geographic area here, so we have plenty of different types of hazards that we face in this region, especially earthquakes.
DTJ: Speaking of which, the little bit of reading I’ve done about the Cascadia subduction zone seems to indicate that a major natural disaster—an earthquake—in your region is highly likely. So, what is your understanding of that threat and its potential impact on the region?
Kenneth Murphy: The Cascadia subduction zone is two plates that sit out in the ocean, and these plates are pushing against each other. This subduction zone for earthquakes runs from northern California all the way up to Vancouver Island in Canada. So it’s something that sits off the coast anywhere from just a few miles to maybe 50 miles off depending on where you’re at.
We really don’t have any good methods of prediction, although I hope we will someday. We do know that earthquakes in the subduction zone happen every 300 to 500 years. The last one happened in January 1700, so about 317 years ago. We really don’t know when it will happen again—it could happen tomorrow, it could happen 200 years from now. We try and impress upon people that every day is earthquake season, and therefore we should take the time to be better prepared.
Impacts are very, very difficult to determine. I think it’s safe to say that the impact would probably be unlike anything that we’ve ever seen before. There will be power outages, and a certain amount of roads, bridges, tunnels and different transportation modes that will be totally or partially inoperable. I think we’ll see those buildings that are old and were not built to the current building codes partially or fully collapsed. And then we’ll have a lot of secondary disasters like broken gas lines and broken water mains. And I failed to mention you have the tsunami that would also hit the West Coast of northern California, Oregon and Washington.
So really, what I think we try and teach people is that we need to focus on lifesaving and life safety, and being better prepared; having a family plan, a preparedness kit, and the ability to make sure that your family is taken care of. Since it’s earthquake season every day, people can be trapped in buildings, cars, any numerous amounts of different places where they can be hit by falling debris or different types of things that they need to be aware of.
We have been working, really for years, to learn more about what we have to deal with, figure out ways we can address some of these things. We really want to look at how we can deal with these at a local level, the state level, the tribal nation level, and then, of course, nationally.
DTJ: To that point, if this type of event happened in the near future, what would the region’s needs be and what role would FEMA be taking to respond?
Kenneth Murphy: FEMA’s role in this is the lead federal agency in coordinating at the local, regional and national level. Now, in all honesty if we had an earthquake here, I’m quite sure that myself and my
The Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of North America spans from northern California to southern British Columbia. This subduction zone can produce earthquakes as large as magnitude 9 and corresponding tsunamis. Image by FEMA/Mustafa Lazkani.
team here in the region would be disaster survivors, actually a part of the disaster. So as part of our plan, this becomes a national effort led by FEMA, and it really will take the entire nation to respond to this. FEMA will lead this effort to execute a preset list of duties and responsibilities to bring to bear on the region, and it will be handled out of Washington, DC.
DTJ: I’m sure there’s quite a laundry list of responsibilities—what might some of those immediate actions be?
Kenneth Murphy: Well you’re correct, the responsibility list is very large. Some of the immediate things are to start shipping to locations in eastern Washington and eastern Oregon that are called incident staging bases. So immediately there will food, water, medical equipment, that type of thing, that will automatically be shipped to those areas to then be broken down and to be delivered to the disaster area.
In this particular case, we have teams that will immediately start deploying to do search and rescue. This is literally hundreds, if not thousands, of people from across the nation to start going through rubble. Other teams will look at the shape of roads and bridges and airports, so that we can start preparing the transportation system. Really some of the first things we will do for actually many days, if not weeks, will be lifesaving and life safety, making sure that we do everything to take care of the citizens that have suffered from this disaster.
DTJ: Obviously it sounds like transportation and logistics capabilities would be essential to providing those lifesaving personnel and materials—the food, the medicine, the water—in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami. What are some of the current challenges that you’re thinking about and grappling with in terms of logistics and transportation?
Soldiers with the 11th Transportation Battalion guide a shipping container off a vessel at the Port of Tacoma, Washington. The battalion and other units from Fort Eustis, Virginia, the Washington State Army Reserve and National Guard provided logistical support during Cascadia Rising 2016, an exercise which addresses the response from government agencies in the event of a catastrophic disaster in the Pacific Northwest. Photo by US Army/Sgt. Eliverto V Larios.
FEMA generators are unloaded from a C-17 military cargo plane. FEMA shipped generators from its warehouses to help provide electric power to critical facilities in American Samoa following an earthquake, tsunami, and flooding that devastated much of the island in 2009. Photo by FEMA.
And I would also suggest—and we’ve thought about this a lot—that some of the actual planners and logisticians that do this work for these major corporations can easily advise us how to do this better. With these kinds of disasters, you have to make a very wise choice of what goes on the first truck or the first airplane. You don’t want to make a mistake on what goes in or what comes out, so we want to use the private sector’s expertise to help citizens during these events.
Kenneth Murphy: Oh, you’re absolutely correct, this is really going to become a logistics effort in how we’re going to move goods and people everywhere. We anticipate initially that the east-west road network—and this would be on the western sides of Oregon and Washington—will probably be unusable, and so on our initial list of taskings is to ask the Department of Defense to dispatch part of the US Navy’s 3rd Fleet up along the Oregon and Washington coast to try to bring in supplies along those coastal communities.
In communities on the other side, closer in to the valleys along the Interstate 5 transportation route, one of the things we’re trying to figure out is how we can make a very quick assessment of the road network, primarily some of the major roads that people would depend on to bring in goods and services, to determine their status so we can either use them, or come in and try and repair them. Same thing with bridges and tunnels. We want to make sure we have this infrastructure safe before we can actually allow people to use them. With a major earthquake like this we can also expect aftershocks, so that’s something that we’ll constantly be watching for.
DTJ: Sure. And so you mentioned a few of the government resources and parts of the government and military that might be brought to bear. Could you elaborate what your current thinking is with regard to how the private sector might play a role in logistics and transportation?
Kenneth Murphy: The bottom line is the private sector can do a much better job at this. I think it is government’s responsibility to recognize these folks, whoever they are, who have the capability, have the technology. They know how to quickly deliver goods and services to the public. So it is important that we’re working with the private sector whether it’s to deliver food, fuel, general goods, whatever the case may be.
And I would also suggest—and we’ve thought about this a lot—that some of the actual planners and logisticians that do this work for these major corporations can easily advise us how to do this better. With these kinds of disasters, you have to make a very wise choice of what goes on the first truck or the first airplane. You don’t want to make a mistake on what goes in or what comes out, so we want to use the private sector’s expertise to help citizens during these events.
DTJ: To that point, are there any partnerships that are currently in place, or that you’re looking to grow in the near term?
Kenneth Murphy: We’re always looking to partner with the private sector and grow into relationships. There are so many pieces and parts to the private sector. But we have a good relationship at different levels of government.
At FEMA’s level, we try to work with the headquarters of these national corporations or associations that can help us. So we’ve done quite a few exercises, including some virtual tabletop exercises with our private sector partners. We try to focus especially on the private sector that can help us with food, water and medical supplies, but there are so many other private sector entities that we should and need to develop relationships with.
One of the things that happens during disasters is that at some point in time, we’re doing the right things to get the economy running again. So that could be making sure that roads are open for trucks to be transporting goods, or ports are open to transport things by ship. So many of those relationships still need to be built, and that’s an area we continue to work on. DTJ: Great. To bring it back to those relationships, whether it’s with other government entities or the private sector, could you talk a little bit about the planning that FEMA has done, particularly the Cascadia Rising exercise that just concluded a few weeks ago?
Kenneth Murphy: Well, we’ve had a plan that’s been written for about three to four years, and I think the centerpiece of that plan that has really taken the time to work out is what we call an execution matrix. Based on our best knowledge of what we can expect or should expect, the minute the earthquake happens these tasks are automatically executed by the federal government or the state government.
We try to advocate that this be done at each level of government, so if one of us in a leadership position is not available or we are killed by the event, we can start executing the plan, and start taking care of people, moving goods. There’s just a huge list of tasks that simultaneously have to happen across a very large geographic area. So we do exercises like the recent Cascadia Rising exercise, and we will get ready to start updating the plan to make it even better.
DTJ: I know that Cascadia Rising just ended very recently, but are there any initial lessons-learned or takeaways that have stemmed from that?
Kenneth Murphy: This is pretty true with just about every disaster; you’re going to have communications challenges. I actually worry a lot about how we communicate. I think everybody realizes by now how dependent we are on e-mail, our smartphones, social media and the different forms of communication that we have. We really need to figure out how we’re going to manage if some of that is not available. I know for sure that just us using the system and the ground shaking in an earth
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command ship USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300) lowers a conex box to a causeway ferry during the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore exercise, also part of Cascadia Rising. JLOTS is the process by which rolling stock and containers of military cargo are moved from ship to shore without the benefit of a port. Photo by US Navy/MC3 Charles D. Gaddis IV.
quake is going to bring the communications systems—if they don’t totally break—to a very slow halt, so we can’t rely on them. We really need to figure out how we are going to address that. Because when we’ve had disasters across this country, whether it’s floods, wildfires, tornadoes or hurricanes, communications always go south.
Another common lesson is, how are we going to manage without power? We’re very dependent on electricity to run things, so communications and power are probably the two things that we seriously have to figure out how to fix. Most disasters across the United States, you can literally drive to the disaster, and fix things. If you’re in an earthquake, you might not be able to do that. So we’re going to have to be inventive and creative, because without good communications or electricity, it’s just going to slow us down and make the job of response and recovery more difficult.
DTJ: Absolutely. And it sounds like in both cases, when you’re dealing with gaps in technology and systems are down, it’s very much back to basics.
Kenneth Murphy: Absolutely back to basics. And I think we have the technology, we just have to be smart about how we bring it into this area once a disaster happens. It’s just good government to make sure people realize that what we take for granted will not necessarily be there for them to use.
DTJ: We’ve covered a decent amount of ground here. Is there anything else on the topic, either the scope of a potential event or the response that I missed that you’d like to highlight?
Kenneth Murphy: Well, I would just highlight that every day is earthquake season, and that should be something people take seriously. I think an earthquake is a survivable event, and a lot of that is going to depend on preparedness, starting with the individual. Each one of us can make
a difference, if we take the time to prepare ourselves; having some food, water, clothing, to last for at least a week if not a couple of weeks, and then having a plan with our family. Do I know where my spouse is? Do I know where my kids are? Can I communicate? And I think that really will make a difference, if we as individuals and families prepare. And that way, we can help each other, our neighbors, our communities, survive this event. DTJ
REFERENCES 1 Oskin, Becky. “Why a 2011 earthquake in Virginia damaged the Washington Monument.” The Washington Post. 11 May 2015. Web. 2 Kang, Celia and Ylan Q. Mui. “Cellphone service falls short after earthquake.” The Washington Post. 23 Aug. 2011. Web. 3 “Great Tohoku, Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, 11 March 2011.” National Centers for Environmental Information. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Web. 4 Schulz, Kathryn. “The Really Big One.” The New Yorker. 20 July 2015. Web.
Irvin Varkonyi, Past President, NDTA DC Chapter and Master Instructor, APICS DC Metro ivarkonyi@scopedu.com
The second annual Transportation University, an integral component of the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting, offers opportunities for exploring new learning paths in defense related transportation and logistics, targeting an audience of active duty, government civilians and commercial defense contractors. The experience of the 2015 Transportation University provided the foundation from which the 2016 program will nearly triple the number of classes and seminars.
The 2016 program will broaden its foundation with respect to government agencies and commercial organizations. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation will offer presentations on issues related to transportation cyber security threats. These will be joined by sessions offered by the US Transportation Command.
A VARIETY OF TRACKS WILL BE OFFERED Among the 65 classes and seminars offered, attendees will discover an array of tracks organized by broad topical fields of interest. These tracks are for convenience, and attendees are free to enroll in courses/ seminars in multiple tracks. There are courses for all levels of experience, rank and grade in DOD, USG and industry!
6. Acquisition – The business of sourcing equipment and services for DOD DOD Transportation – Strategic overviews of the transportation world DOD Surface Transportation – Perspectives on freight movement via rail, motor and maritime modes Enabling DOD Transportation Resources – Perspectives on available resources to optimize DOD transportation Global Logistics – The art and science of logistics in a globalized environment Introduction to Transportation
Transportation University has nearly tripled the number of classroom sessions and seminars. Classroom sessions will be very interactive and offer limited seating. Seminars will offer noted speakers and panels updating the transportation, logistics and travel management communities on the latest developments.
Modes – Learning the basics of air, truck, maritime and rail transportation 7. IT Systems & In-Transit Visibility – Demonstration of tools and processes for end-to-end visibility of cargo movements 8. Professional Development – Enhancing individual knowledge and skill sets 9. Transportation Research Board (TRB) – Research from TRB Military Transportation Committee (part of the National Academy of Sciences) 10. Transportation Security – Perspectives on the secure movement of cargo and travelers 11. Legislation & Policy – Information on working with current transportation legislation and policy issues 12. Passenger Travel – Examination of passenger movement and travel services 13. Cyber Security – Essential lessons on maintaining a secure cyber environment
HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2016 Transportation University has nearly tripled the number of classroom sessions and seminars. Classroom sessions will be very interactive and offer limited seating. Seminars will offer noted speakers and panels updating the transportation, logistics and travel management communities on the latest developments.
While the focus of the Fall Meeting is on transportation and logistics, recognition of the valuable and critical role of passenger travel in the success of logisticians will be reflected in sessions offered by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), along with travel management contractors. These sessions and seminars will enhance knowledge of logisticians when they require movement to duty stations.
A series of “how to” sessions have been added to offer introductory content on the main transportation modes for defense needs—rail, maritime, air and
OUR VISION To be the world’s leading professional association for individuals working in the global logistic/ transportation system and related industries so we may maximize our contribution to the national security and economic growth of the United States.
OUR MISSION To foster a strong and efficient global logistics and transportation system to support the economy and national security of the United States by: • Advancing the knowledge and science of logistics and transportation within government and industry. • Facilitating the sharing of knowledge between government and logistics/transportation related industries. • Educating members on the important issues affecting the global logistics/transportation system.
OUR VALUES Values form the foundation for all that we do in our organization and for our Nation. Our values are our spirit. They are what we believe, what we stand for, and our moral and ethical fiber. The men and women who make up our membership around the globe are dedicated to improving our association today and into the future. Our commitment and competency are reflected in our core values:
• Integrity: We conduct our business in an open, honest, ethical manner. Exhibit the courage to speak out and express our opinions. Do what is morally and ethically right. Comply with the intent and the “letter” of policies and laws. • Teamwork: We maximize our collective talents through teams and partnerships based on mutual trust, fairness, respect, cooperation and communication. We promote and recognize creativity and innovation. • Service: We pursue excellence in all of our endeavors. We anticipate and respond to member and partner needs by providing quality products and services. We take pride in our work and commitment to quality. • Action: We will listen well, consider the ideas of others, seek counsel and then act decisively. Relentlessly press for action to resolve an issue or to reach a solution. • Diversity: We value our members, employees, and supporters, their capabilities and differences, plus the unique contributions that each brings to our organization.
Costs are minimal, but the rewards are great! >> Contact NDTA for more information at 703-751-5011 or visit www.ndtahq.com <<
NDTA MEMBERSHIP Maybe you know someone who would like to join. The National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA) is a non-political and non-profit educational Association composed of government, military, and industry professionals dedicated to fostering a strong and efficient global transportation and logistics system in support of national security. Membership in NDTA affords opportunities to serve and educate the community in your area of expertise as well as other special benefits.
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
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Membership Type Life (after 62 years old) $450.00 Regular – 3 Years $150.00 Military/Government – 3 Years $135.00 Regular – 1 Year $55.00 Military/Government – 1 Year $50.00 Young Leaders (under 35 years of age) $40.00 Retired (not gainfully employed) $40.00 Student $20.00
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CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP Corporate membership in NDTA provides increased exposure and networking opportunities for those companies wanting to do busi ness with the US government or military. Membership should be a key part of any business plan where the defense and govern ment logistics, transportation, travel and distribution system is the target market.
Corporate membership will offer your team the opportunity to be a part of the discussion and share ideas with top military, government, their execution teams, and industry leaders—the individuals who are setting and influencing the transportation, travel and distribution agenda for today and the future.
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CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE These corporations are a distinctive group of NDTA Members who, through their generous support of the Association, have dedicated themselves to supporting an expansion of NDTA programs to benefit our members and defense transportation preparedness.
AAR CORP. + PLUS Agility Defense & Government Services + PLUS AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc. + PLUS American President Lines, Ltd. + PLUS American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group, Inc. (ARC Group) + PLUS Amtrak + PLUS Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings + PLUS Bennett Motor Express, LLC + PLUS Boyle Transportation, Inc. + PLUS Concur Technologies, Inc. + PLUS Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC + PLUS Crowley Maritime Corp. + PLUS FedEx + PLUS Final Mile Logistics + PLUS Freeman Holdings Group + PLUS Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC + PLUS Innovative Logistics, LLC + PLUS Intermarine, LLC - US Ocean + PLUS International Auto Logistics + PLUS Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics + PLUS Landstar System, Inc. + PLUS Leidos + PLUS Liberty Global Logistics-Liberty Maritime + PLUS Maersk Line, Limited + PLUS National Air Cargo + PLUS Norfolk Southern Corporation + PLUS Omni Air International + PLUS Panalpina + PLUS Schuyler Line Navigation Company, LLC + PLUS TOTE, Inc. + PLUS United Airlines + PLUS Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. + PLUS
Best Western International BNSF Railway Bristol Associates CEVA Logistics Choice Hotels International CSX Transportation Echo Global Logistics, Inc. Global Logistics Providers LLC
Hybrid Enterprises International Shipholding Corporation Knight Transportation La Quinta Inns & Suites Matson Navigation Company Inc. National Air Carrier Association Portus R & R Trucking Raith Engineering & Mfg. Co. W.L.L. SAIC The Pasha Group U.S. Bank Union Pacific Railroad UPS Walnut Industries, Inc.
ALL OF THESE FIRMS SUPPORT THE PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF NDTA
SUSTAINING MEMBERS
1-800-PACK-RAT AAT Carriers, Inc. ABF Freight System, Inc. ABF Logistics Accenture Federal Services Admiral Merchants Motor Freight, Inc. Air Transport International, Inc. Airlines for America Al-Hamd International Container Terminal American Group LLC American Maritime Officers American Moving & Storage Association American Trucking Associations Army & Air Force Exchange Service Arven Freight Forwarding Arven Services, LLC Associated Global Systems Atlas International ATS Specialized, Inc. Avis Budget Group aVolt Incorporated Baggett Transportation Company Benchmarking Partners, Inc. Bertling Logistics Inc. Boeing Company Bollore Logistics C.L. Services, Inc. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Chalich Trucking, Inc. Coyne Airways Coyote Logistics, LLC CWT SatoTravel DAMCO DHL Express Eagle Freight, LLC Engility Corporation Enterprise Holdings Erickson Incorporated Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Europcar Car & Truck Rental Evanhoe & Associates, Inc. Executive Moving Systems, Inc. Extended Stay America Hotels FlightSafety International FMN International, Inc. GE Aviation General Dynamics/American Overseas Marine GeoDecisions Greatwide Truckload Management Green Valley Transportation Corp. Hanjin Intermodal America, Inc. Hertz Corporation Hilton Worldwide IBM Institute of Hazardous Materials Management Intercomp Company Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), AFL-CIO International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots Kansas City Southern Keystone Shipping Co. KGL Holding KROWN1 FZC Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. LMI Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Logistic Dynamics, Inc. Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association Marriott International Martin Logistics Incorporated Mayflower Transit McCollister’s Transportation Systems, Inc. Mercer Transportation Company Meridian Global Consulting LLC National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. National Van Lines, Inc. Network FOB, Inc. Northern Air Cargo Inc. Omega World Travel Omnitracs, LLC One Network Enterprises, Inc. Oracle ORBCOMM Panther Premium Logistics PGL Pilot Freight Services PODS Port of Beaumont Port of San Diego Ports America
REGIONAL PATRONS
Advantage Rent A Car Agile Defense, Inc. Alaska Marine Lines Alaska West Express Amyx Association of American Railroads C3 Express Logistics, Inc. C5T Corporation Cargo Experts Corp. Cavalier Logistics CeLeen LLC Ceres Terminals Incorporated CGM-NV a NovaVision Company Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Chassis King, Inc. Columbia Helicopters, Inc. Dalko Resources, Inc. DB Schenker DPRA, Inc. DTI Enterprise Management Systems Fox Rent A Car Hospitality Logistics International Hub Group, Inc. John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences Kalitta Charters, LLC Lineage Logistics LMJ International Logistics, LLC MacGregor USA, Inc. Madison Hospitality MCR Federal, LLC mLINQS Move One Logistics Naniq Global Logistics LLC NCI Information Systems, Inc. NFI NJVC Oakwood Worldwide Overdrive Logistics, Inc. Overwatch, Inc. (a division of Avalon Risk Management) Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Pak Shaheen Freighters (Pvt) Ltd. Patriot Contract Services, LLC Philadelphia Regional Port Authority PITT OHIO
Pratt & Whitney Preferred Systems Solutions, Inc. Prestera Trucking, Inc. Priority Solutions International Priority Worldwide Services Ramar Transportation, Inc. Roadrunner Transportation Systems Sabre Travel Network Savi SBA Global Logistic Services Scotlynn USA Division, Inc. Seafarers International Union of NA , AGLIW Sealed Air Corporation Sealift, Inc. Secured Land Transport SEKO Logistics Southwest Airlines Teradata Corporation Textainer Equipment
Management (U.S.) Limited Transportation Institute Transportation Intermediaries Assn. (TIA) Travelport Tri-State Motor Transit Co. (TSMT) TSA Transportation LLC TTX Company Tucker Company Worldwide, Inc. United Van Lines, Inc. USA Jet Airlines USA Truck, Inc. Volga Dnepr Airlines Women In Trucking Association, Inc. XPO Logistics – Supply Chain
Port Canaveral Port of Port Arthur Radisson Resort At The Port Reckart Logistics, Inc. RST Freight Seatac Marine Services Southeast Vocational Alliance Staybridge Suites McLean-Tysons Corner Hotel TechGuard Security Tennessee Steel Haulers Trans Global Logistics Europe GmbH UniTrans International, Inc. Wapack Labs Corporation YRC Freight
We Were Soldiers Too By Sharon Lo
We Were Soldiers Too is a documentary series by Bob Kern on the history of the Cold War through the careers of the veterans who served during this critical time in history. There are three books in the series:
We Were Soldiers Too: Serving as a Reagan Soldier During the Cold War (ISBN-13: 978-1508645290) is the author’s autobiography. It describes his personal account of military service from November 1980 until March 1988, when Kern quickly went from a naive seventeen-year-old boy to a dedicated soldier. He also details the historical events that were happening during President Reagan’s time in office as the world faced the possibility of nuclear war and the difficulties of serving during that time period. Kern was inspired to write the book for soldiers who had served honorably, but despite a willingness to go to war and sacrifice their lives for their country if called upon, had never been in combat. Kern had himself struggled with feelings that somehow his service was less valuable or honorable for this reason. Book two in the series, We Were Soldiers Too: A Historical Look at Germany During the Cold War From the US Soldiers Who Served There (ISBN-13: 978- 1523677528), covers the careers of seventeen veterans who served in Germany from 1960 to 1989. The shocking speed at which the Nazis had invaded Europe during WWII played a factor in the US maintaining a significant force in Western Germany during the Cold War. Each chapter of the book describes the story of a veteran who served during this era—their experiences and feelings about serving just an hour away from what the author describes as ground zero for nuclear war.
Similar to book two, the recently released third book in the series, We Were Soldiers Too: The Unknown Battle to Defend the Demilita
APL.............................................................. Cover 3 ARC............................................................. Cover 2 rized Zone Against North Korea During the Cold War (ISBN-13: 978-1535088145) gives the stories of nine veterans who had served in South Korea from 1962 through 1991. These veterans served on the most defended border in the world—the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The soldiers were responsible for enforcing the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War and this was not a task for the faint of heart. The North Koreans violated it almost daily sending spies, marauders, hit squads and ambush patrols into the southern controlled portion of the DMZ in an effort to destabilize South Korea.
The books give a unique and under-communicated perspective on what it was like to have served during such a politically tense time period. And the series will not end with these three—the author is already working on books four, The Cold War at Sea, and five, Radar Operators at Cold War HotSpots, with even more ideas in the pipeline. What started with his own autobiography has turned into so much more for Kern, “the response from Cold War veterans on each book so far has been overwhelming. The gratitude I get from these veterans has made this a project of passion to me.”
Kern has also used the series to try to change legislation in his home state of Indiana where benefits are only available to disabled veterans who served during a time of war. He feels confident legislation will be introduced to extend the state’s benefits to disabled Cold War veterans. In addition, he is working with his representative in Washington DC to appear in front of the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs and request a Cold War Service Medal or ribbon be awarded to Cold War veterans, and noted in their military records.
Each of the three books is available in paperback on Amazon for $9.99 or for download to Kindle for $2.99. DTJ Cont’d from Prof. Devel., pg. 25
truck. These sessions will provide foundational information for these modes: What are the important attributes in transporting goods by rail? How do changes in the global economy impact maritime capacity? What is the difference between UPS and passenger focused airlines which also carry cargo? How are new rules affecting trucking?
One of the rapidly increasing threats in transportation has been in the cyber arena. How are cyber threats impacting the movement of goods and information for transporters and related stakeholders of such third party logistics firms? How should shippers work with their carriers on cyber issues?
Several sessions from 2015 will make encore presentations such as professional credentials in supply chain management. Two of these organizations will be APICS and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. What is the value of a professional credential while you are on active duty or a government civilian? What is the value when you transition into the commercial sector? OSD Transportation Policy will offer a reprise of Transportation Policy 101. Representatives of the Transportation Research Board will offer insights from academic research on the state of transportation assets. The USTRANSCOM components, consisting of Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Military Sealift Command (MSC) will update their training sessions from 2015.
The benefit of Transportation University to local NDTA chapters is to serve as a model to collaborate with your chapter members, universities and military representatives to consider a “mini-Transportation University,” perhaps offering a half day version of two to four sessions on topics of interest to your chapter and local military. This can bolster your chapters and better integrate military and commercial members.
Classes are filling up so I encourage you to register now. See you in St. Louis! DTJ
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