WELCOME

issues that continue to resonate during these times. Around the globe, the intensity of providing material support for Ukraine continues to be a top priority. I recently attended the US European Command (EUCOM)/ US Africa Command (AFRICOM) Joint Deployment and Distribution Conference.

The licensed and un-licensed mariner pool is suffering critical shortages, at a time when the US will need to build up mariners to sail on the more complicated tankers, which are being brought into the Tanker Security Program.

It is essential to remain focused on longterm support, and the priority of continuing to build logistics resilience within NATO is at the forefront. This means every member nation is leaning forward to replenish munitions and provide effective border crossing/ Command and Control of logistics.

I was also struck by the similarities between logistics support on the African continent to that of the Indo-Pacific area of operations—due to vast distances between logistics nodes and the difficulty of obtaining the right transportation solutions to fit the environment. In Europe and Africa, our NDTA industry partners are fully engaged and supporting US/coalition military operations, as well as wholeof-government operations. I highly recommend that those who want to stay on top of issues in Europe and Africa engage with NDTA’s Europe & Africa Regional Committee led by Jason Trubenbach.

One challenge that continues to affect most aspects of commercial logistics and transportation across industry sectors is labor. In particular, labor shortages are impacting the maritime and air industries. The licensed and un-licensed mariner pool is suffering critical shortages, at a time when the US will need to build up mariners to sail on the more complicated tankers, which are being brought into the Tanker Security Program.

At a recent Military Aviation Advisory Committee (MAAC) meeting, the short-

Chloe Baker

Please join us in welcoming Chloe Baker to the NDTA Headquarters team!

Chloe will be joining as the new Project Coordinator. In this role, Chloe looks forward to using her skills, experience, and problem-solving capabilities to support NDTA, its chapters, and events.

Chloe graduated last year with her bachelor’s degree in American Studies at Christopher Newport University (CNU). While at CNU, she worked as a Junior Fellow for CNU’s Center for American Studies (CAS). She assisted with CAS events and conferences—including the 2022 NDTACAS Surface Force Projection Conference! In addition, she worked with an American studies faculty mentor to complete academic research and assist with various projects.

She has also worked as an A/V Technician for university events, and completed two marketing-related internships, including a Social Media Marketing and Graphic Design internship with CNU’s Office of Alumni Engagement.

In her free time, Chloe enjoys cooking, writing, hiking and being outdoors, and acting in community theater productions. She also has a growing collection of houseplants to care for.

Chloe looks forward to getting to know NDTA’s members and learning more about logistics and transportation. She feels “honored to help serve the leaders and experts who serve our great nation and contribute to America’s national defense.” DTJ age of skilled aircraft mechanics was a major theme throughout the discussions. These shortages are known by US Transportation Command and the Maritime Administration and are being highlighted to Congress during “testimony season.” NDTA will continue to emphasize the industry-wide labor shortfalls, and we will use our Committees and Subcommittees to place focus and seek solutions.

To solve these issues, we need critical thinking and action. Albert Einstein said success is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration. James H. Clark, PhD, founder of Netscape, whose first job was in the US Navy as an enlisted serviceman, talks about how you take a great idea and make it work. He agrees with Einstein. When asked about coming up with such ideas and implementing them, he says it is about “just being obsessive”…” Believe and look for ways to make things work”—and “Luck (good luck) comes to the prepared mind.” “Put together a team of pros and minimize the risks.” All of this advice applies to our military and industry partners as we work together on some of our Nation’s most pressing planning risks.

Please keep working together to deter and overcome as necessary. We need to shore up our capacity, exercise together and seek advantage.

One great example of “getting at an issue” is the leadership of the Military Sealift Command for their hosting of industry in petroleum tanker wargame exercises—overcoming contested logistics. Keep it up!

To use the USTRANSCOM motto: Together We Deliver! DTJ

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