Defense Transportation Journal

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65th Annual NDTA Forum & Expo Pg. 41 | Year of the Military Logistician

September 2011

www.ndtahq.com

GTN: Continuing the Legacy Government-Industry Partnership for Our Next Distribution Challenge MSC: Who we are. Where we’re going. How we’re getting there. . . . and MORE


SAIC delivered, prepared, and fielded over 15,000 MRAP military vehicles in the past two years. Our fast and efficient joint logistics integration program provides solutions from C4ISR electronics networks to analytics to total asset visibility. Smart people solving hard problems. For more information, visit saic.com/natsec/mrap

Energy I Environment I National Security I Health I Critical Infrastructure © Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reser ved.

NYSE:SAI


maersklinelimited.com

Every Voyage has a Purpose

We have supported our armed forces for almost three decades by deploying our ships and utilizing our assets ashore. Our commitment to U.S. troops extends beyond our daily operations to partnerships with charitable organizations that support service members and their families. We are proud of the role we play in their success.

Come visit us at NDTA Booth K September 10–14, 2011 Phoenix, AZ


Copyright Š 2011 United Parcel Service of America, Inc.

Logistics is precise. When you need to get mission-critical air freight shipments to troops around the world, you want more than the range of transit times that many carriers provide. That’s why UPS gives you a choice of time- and day-specific air freight services so you get the predictability and reliability you need, with tracking and proactive notification along the way. Put the power of logistics to work for you. For one-day air freight quotes, pickups and support, call 1-888-830-3570 or email us at govsupport@ups.com. UPS is a proud supporter of the NDTA.


THE BERLINER 21 ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAST ST

BRITISH MILITARY TRAIN

September 2011

PRESENTED BY TRAIN OF EVENTS

12 MAY 2012 FARES FROM ONLY £90 2ND CLASS, £125 1ST CLASS

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FEATURES

ENQUIRIES & TICKETS: MILITARYTRAIN2012@GMAIL.COM

GTN: Continuing the Legacy September 2011 • Vol 67, No. 5 Publisher

LTG Ken Wykle, USA (Ret.) Editor

Kent N. Gourdin Managing Editor

Karen Schmitt | karen@ndtahq.com Contributing editor

Denny Edwards

Circulation Manager

Leah Ashe

Publishing Office

NDTA 50 South Pickett Street, Suite 220 Alexandria, VA 22304-7296 703-751-5011 • F 703-823-8761 Graphic Design

Debbie Bretches Production Manager

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By Victor Wald

MSC: Who we are. Where we’re going. How we’re getting there.

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Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, USN

The End State

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By Mike Young

SDDC Conducts Munitions Emergency Response ROC Drill and Exercise

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By Surface Deployment and Distribution Command

Government-Industry Partnership for Our Next Distribution Challenge

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By George Topic and William Kenwell

Debbie Bretches

Advertising Account Manager

Jim Lindsey

Advertising & Production Carden Jennings Publishing Co., Ltd. Custom Publishing Division 375 Greenbrier Drive, Suite 100 Charlottesville, VA 22901 434-817-2000, x261 • F 434-817-2020

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departments A-35 News | Lori Leffler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Editorial | Dr. Kent N. Gourdin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Defense Transportation Journal (ISSN 0011-7625) is published bimonthly by the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA), a non-profit research and educational organization; 50 South Pickett Street, Suite 220, Alexandria, VA 22304-7296, 703-751-5011. Copyright by NDTA. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Subscription Rates: One year (six issues) $35. Two years, $55. Three years, $70. To foreign post offices, $45. Single copies, $6 plus postage. The DTJ is free to members. For details on membership, visit www.ndtahq.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Defense Transportation Journal 50 South Pickett Street, Suite 220 Alexandria, VA 22304-7296

President’s Corner | LTG Ken Wykle, USA (Ret.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Working together: Our Legislators Get It Right | Lee Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter spotlight | Jeff Campbell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Pages future | COL Denny Edwards, USA (Ret.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 index of advertisers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Professional development | Irvin Varkonyi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 honor roll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 chairman’s circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Bookshelf Ideas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64


A-35

NDTA Headquarters Staff LTG Kenneth Wykle, USA (Ret.) President COL Mark Victorson, USA (Ret.) VP Membership COL Dennis Edwards, USA (Ret.) VP Marketing | Corporate Development Patty Casidy, VP Finance Karen Schmitt Director, Public Relations Christine Pooré Assistant, Public Relations Lee Matthews Marketing | Corporate Development Manager Leah Ashe Manager, Data Base Sharon Lo Executive Assistant Jeff Campbell PR Assistant | Chapter Liaison Carl Wlotzko Coordinator, Banquet & Special Events Angie Payne Forum Administrative Assistant

Mark Your Schedules! Lori Leffler, CTC, A-35 Chair Global Government Strategic Manager, The Hertz Corporation

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elcome to Phoenix and the 65th Annual NDTA Forum and Expo! To complement the forum agenda, A-35ers have many activities planned, so mark your schedules to participate:

• We will be running on Sunday morning, September 11. You DO NOT have to be 35 or under—you just have to be young at heart. We will be welcoming all runners and walkers in our 5K while remembering 9-11.

For a listing of current Committee Chair-persons, Government Liaisons, and Chapter & Regional Presidents, please visit our Association website at www.ndtahq.com. Editorial Objectives The editorial objectives of the Defense Transportation Journal are to advance knowledge and science in defense logistics and transportation and the partnership between the commercial transportation industry and the government transporter. DTJ stimulates thought and effort in the areas of defense transportation, logistics, and distribution by providing readers with: • News and information about defense logistics and transportation issues • New theories or techniques • Information on research programs • Creative views and syntheses of new concepts • Articles in subject areas that have significant current impact on thought and practice in defense logistics and transportation • Reports on NDTA Chapters Editorial Policy The Defense Transportation Journal is designed as a forum for current research, opinion, and identification of trends in defense transportation and logistics. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Editors, the Editorial Review Board, or NDTA. Editorial Content For a DTJ Publication Schedule, Media Kit and Archives, visit /www.ndtahq.com/education_dtj.htm Dr. Kent N. Gourdin, Editor, DTJ Director of the Global Logistics & Transportation Program, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 843-953-5327 • F 843-953-5697 gourdink@email.cofc.edu

• We will also be “swimming” with the Ducks after the Chairman’s Awards Dinner on Tuesday evening. This activity raises money for a worthy cause—the NDTA Scholarship Fund. When an A-35er asks if you have adopted your Ducks, please remember that Jason Truenbach, A-35 Fundraising Chair, and his army of Duck Sellers are working to raise money for scholarships that are available to NDTA members and their families. Thank you for your support!

Karen Schmitt, Managing Editor, DTJ NDTA 50 South Pickett Street, Suite 220 Alexandria, VA 22304-7296 703-751-5011 • F 703-823-8761 karen@ndtahq.com

• The A-35 Breakfast, which includes our annual Meeting and Mentoring Session, will be held Monday morning. We will be joined by and be able to ask questions of senior military and industry leaders about their life experiences. I know of no other organization where young professionals have this kind of access to the people at the top—be sure to take advantage of this benefit. • The Young Leaders professional dialogue session “In the AOR (Area of Responsibility) with Our Young Leaders” provides an opportunity to hear unvarnished views from the people who are accomplishing the DOD mission every day. Check program details for session time and place. In addition to forum actives, our A-35 group is constantly looking forward, and we have teamed up with Cell Phones for Soldiers, whose mission is to help troops call home. Cell Phone for Soldiers (http:// cellphonesforsoldiers.com) collects and recycles used cell phones. The revenue gained from recycling cell phones is used to purchase prepaid calling cards that are supplied to soldiers while deployed. To date, the organization has collected 7.5 million cell phones and provided military personnel with more than 90 million minutes of pre-paid calling cards. NDTA Headquarters has become an official collection site in order to help these numbers grow. Typically, cards are requested one at a time for an individual service member. However, your A-35ers recently worked to make calling cards available to an entire battalion prior to their deployment! This was a first for NDTA and Cell Phones for Soldiers! Donating is easy—I already have. Contact me to find out how to get your old phone to us and make a difference for those away from home serving our nation. continued on page 61

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September 2011


EDITORIAL Our 65th Annual NDTA Forum Dr. Kent N. Gourdin, Editor, DTJ Director, Global Logistics and Transportation Program College of Charleston

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f you are reading this, there is a pretty good chance that you are at the Forum in Phoenix. If you are somewhere else, we will miss you! This year’s gathering is, as always, something to look forward to on a number of levels, but this year will be the 65th time we’ve met as a group, a truly noteworthy occasion. I probably write pretty much the same editorial for every Forum edition of the DTJ because I look forward to it every year and hope everyone else does too. I’ve attended every Forum since 2002 (plus one or two in the 90s) and had a tremendous experience each time. Honestly, I think each one has been better than the last. The combination of a unique mix of informative sessions, keynote speakers who are leaders in their fields, and wonderful social events is absolutely unbeatable. The one constant is the people; greeting old friends and making new ones is always a highlight for me. The theme this year, “Rising to the Challenge,” has resulted in a slate of speakers who will discuss the “opportunities to excel” they foresee impacting their own areas and how these can be exploited to competitive advantage. Looking over the schedule, I can tell that my biggest “challenge” will be figuring out how to attend all of the sessions that I want to given that some are offered at the same time! As always, there are myriad issues facing the transportation industries. I believe the

economy is finally turning around, if the port activity in Charleston is any indication, so firms are beginning to anticipate growth strategies rather than retrenchment. But fuel costs continue to be an issue, and new hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers will have a significant impact on the trucking industry. Providing required levels of port and rail capacity will be an issue as global trade snaps back, while the airlines will continue seek profitability by augmenting fares with additional fees for “extras” that used to be free. Speaking of challenges, I feel compelled to comment on the issue of “Carmageddon,” the gridlock that was anticipated when the I-405 freeway in Los Angeles was closed in July so an overpass could be demolished as part of a project to widen the highway. Surely one of the most serious challenges facing the US is the deteriorating condition of our transportation infrastructure, a topic upon which I have often waxed poetic in this column. What I found somewhat humorous is that “the 405” is, even at the best of times, a creepy-crawly slog: five lanes of traffic in each direction going nowhere. I guess widening it will help for a while, but we all know that traffic will just expand to fill the available space. Clearly, Pogo was right: “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” I think the only solution is for all of you to ride the bus, take the train, work from home, or carpool so that I can drive to work in blissful isolation

errata We regret an error in printing the PTSC Report published in the August DTJ. We have reprinted the whole section here for clarity.

The Power of Creative Thinking The recent unrest in the Middle East and Africa and the March 11 earthquake in Japan remain causes of near-term concern across all industries. Continued gains in manufacturing, exports, and employment are expected to fuel growth, though a weak housing sector, high gasoline prices, and the impact of Japan’s earthquake on the automotive industry may impede recovery. In the travel industry, options that reduce waste and cut costs that are passed on to the end user will make the difference. Creative solutions in transportation, lodging, and even construction will prevail. Doing more with fewer resources will become the new rule. Travel managers are asking employees to spend fewer nights on the road, stay at lower cost hotels, rent smaller cars, and, in some cases, book cheaper flights that aren’t nonstop.

without having to endure slowdowns due to traffic. “Carmageddon” indeed! So, while we won’t discuss infrastructure issues at the Forum, there will certainly be a number of other challenges facing the DTS that we will talk about. Make sure you check your pocket schedule often because some sessions are only offered once, and you don’t want to miss one that you’re really interested in. I’ll look forward to seeing you in Phoenix and wish you all a wonderful experience at this, our 65th Annual Forum. DTJ

66th Annual NDTA Forum & Expo

Sept. 22-26, 2012

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PRESIDENT’S CORNER We are “Rising to the Challenge” LTG Ken Wykle, USA (Ret.) NDTA President

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elcome to Phoenix! We recognize the commitment you make to NDTA by attending this 65th Annual Forum. Thank you for participating. September 2011 is a milestone year— 10 years since the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. During this time, our nation has been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our armed forces, at the direction of the National Command Authority, responded to the events of 9-11 and we thank them for their courage and service to our nation. We also recognize and appreciate the contributions from our commercial logistics and transportation industry. You have provided the capability to sustain our military forces. It is our intent to recognize the sacrifices made by our military and their families. We will honor Gold Star Mothers during our Opening Ceremony, and Mrs. Jonnie Chandler, a Gold Star Mother from Phoenix, will participate in the Military Unit Awards Ceremony. We should not forget the events of 9-11 and the sacrifices made by all of those who responded—police, firemen, military, and civilians. We also want to celebrate our 65th Anniversary, emphasize the role of the logistician, and share knowledge about government and industry topics. To do this, we have an exciting and professionally rewarding program planned consisting of senior government, military, and industry speakers. We are honored to have Mr. Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO, UPS, to “kick-off ” our official program on Monday morning. He will be followed later in the morning by the Honorable Alan Estevez, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Logistics & Materiel Readiness, and by other senior industry and military leaders throughout the duration of the Forum. We have a full schedule of breakout sessions addressing topics requested by you, our members. I encourage you to participate and lend

your voice to the discussions. The exposition provides a great opportunity for attendees to meet industry representatives, learn about their products and services, and build relationships. For industry, it is an opportunity to promote your products and services. We have also adjusted the schedule to provide longer breaks for more networking that also include evening networking events and our annual Chairman’s Awards reception and dinner. Congratulations to the many award winners who will be recognized during the Forum—Mr. Rob Coretz, Chairman Omni International; General Duncan McNabb, Commander, USTRANSCOM; Mr. Alan Estevez, Assistant Secretary of Defense (L&MR); Mr. Robert Agnew, past Chairman of the Military Airlift Committee; and Ms. Judy Silcox, Key Account Director (Government/America Sales), Intercontinental Hotel Group. Also, we will recognize the outstanding Military Transportation Units from each service, our Corporate Distinguished Service Members, and many chapter members. Please add your personal congratulations as you meet and talk to these outstanding leaders during the conference. I encourage you to read the feature articles in this issue—”The End of State,” focused on the “Business of War’” “Global Transportation Network: Continuing the Legacy,” which introduces the concept of Integrated Data Environments; “Government-Industry Partnership for Our Next Distribution Challenge” demonstrates the importance of partnership; and “SDDC Conducts Munitions Emergency Response ROC Drill and Exercise” on the topic of AA&E. It’s a full plate on the pages of this issue of the DTJ! The last year has been difficult but NDTA is “Rising to the Challenge”. Because of record attendance at the 2010 Forum and strong member support, we had an excellent

year. Our committees have been actively engaged in the National issues impacting our industry. Under TRANSCOM leadership, the Airlift Committee made major changes in the CRAF program. And the committee, supported by congressional testimony from the TRANSCOM commander, provided comments to the FAA on the proposed Crew Duty Rest rule. The Surface Committee has been actively involved in the proposed Hours of Service Rule, CSA, EOBR, and is currently sharing their industry knowledge with TRANSCOM on a proposal to transition to FAR based procurement of TPS. The Sealift Committee has discussed Piracy, Commercial First, and MSP. The Passenger Travel Committee has worked with the DTMO on revising the car rental agreements, the GSA City Pairs, and government lodging programs. Additionally, we “teamed” with SDDC for their Training Symposium & NDTA Exposition. Our chapters have hosted events to educate and inform chapter members, they have contributed to their communities, and they have awarded scholarships—collectively over $100,000! The Scott-St Louis Chapter teamed with AFCEA to co-host the CyberLog Mid-America 2011 Conference. Thank you for your commitment to NDTA and your communities. NDTA will do well, thanks to our dedicated members who span the globe making significant contributions to our economy and National Security every day. Our achievements are a direct result of your involvement and commitment. Thank you to participants of the 65th Forum, and to all members for your confidence in the Association and for the contributions each of you make to ensure our success. DTJ

W EL C M E

NEW corporate

members as of August 17, 2011

Sustaining patrons • GID – Get It Done, LLC Regional patrons • Passport International, Ltd. • Pitt Ohio • Turnkey Transportation Services

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Global Transportation Network Continuing the Legacy By Victor Wald

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magine trying to support tens of thousands of soldiers halfway across the globe, without the ability to track or organize shipments. Boxes would get misplaced, incorrect amounts of supplies would be sent, and troops would have a difficult time finding what they needed. Unfortunately, these problems were all too common in 1990–1991, during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Shortly after, the DOD decided that it needed to reform the way it managed the distribution of cargo. Out of this need, the Global Transportation Network (GTN) was born. Now, nearly 16 years later, this groundbreaking program is stepping aside to make room for a new, state-of-the-art information system called the Integrated Data Environment (IDE)/GTN Convergence (IGC). GTN is, essentially, a system of data that provides In-Transit Visibility (ITV) and Command and Control (C2) capabilities to help support the United States Transportation Command’s (USTRANSCOM) mission of global transportation management. The network merges massive amounts of supply and transportation data from 29 feeder systems and more than 265 commercial transportation carrier systems across the globe. Each of the systems and commercial carrier systems sends data electronically into GTN, where users can inquire about the whereabouts of their shipments in near real time. GTN goes a step beyond basic package tracking abilities, however. “We can take it one step further than FedEx,” explains Victor Wald, who has worked on the program since it began. “GTN can tell you what is in the box, in addition to where it is,” he says. This capability helps prevent redundant shipments of supplies to troops worldwide. The network also provides the capability to execute multiple simultaneous field/command post exercises, which saves both manpower and money. From the very beginning, Lockheed Martin has been the system integrator and primary contractor for GTN. Since its inception, GTN has functioned as the only ITV system of record for the DOD, serving more than 6000 users worldwide. 8 |

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As the first major web-based government program, GTN was developed in response to supply chain complications during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. GTN went operational prior to Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1996, following NATO’s decision to intervene in the Bosnian crisis. In February 2001, GTN was recognized by the Center for Excellence in Information Technology because of the money it saved in inventory costs. At that time, Congress documented that the approximate savings were $2.3 billion. Prior to the war in Afghanistan, the network averaged about 40,000 queries per month. According to Air Force Brig. Gen. Gilbert Hawk, who served as the director for Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems at USTRANSCOM, “We saw this number double and then triple after September 11.” GTN has also been used to coordinate supply shipments for many natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, the Haitian earthquake, and the BP oil spill. Overall, GTN has allowed the military to be more responsive both on and off the battlefield. In 2010, the number of transactions processed by GTN grew to more than five million per day, contributing to the more than 14 billion data transactions the network has processed in its lifetime. GTN will soon be superseded by the IGC system, which is the Enterprise Data Warehouse for USTRANSCOM. The process of tracking the shipments and gathering the data will remain the same, but users will have the ability to analyze information contained within IGC, through a variety of different applications. The goal of IGC is to create an Enterprise Data Warehouse that would store more than five years’ worth of information. GTN is only able to hold 120 days’ worth of information at a time, which does not allow for the in-depth analysis that researchers want to perform. In addition to the Enterprise Data Warehouse, IGC also contains a powerful application called Informatica Metadata Manager. Using Informatica, IGC users can see the end-to-end

September 2011

data lineage to determine where the data come from and how the data are processed within IGC into their final form, allowing for improved data quality analysis. Aside from the larger storage capacity, IGC offers several other features that cannot be found on GTN. Business Objects allow tech-savvy users to create custom queries instead of just using one of the previously provided, canned reports. In addition to new applications already installed in the system, IGC provides a process that allows customers to develop their own applications utilizing IGC data, giving them the ability to generate custom reports specific to their mission requirements. Lockheed Martin integrated a Google Search Appliance, which enhances the IGC users’ ability to locate information similarly to performing a Google web search, using keywords or tracking numbers. IGC also offers custom dashboards that allow users to quickly and easily see the status of their data, such as shipment information that is pertinent to their interests. All of these things are just a small sampling of the improvements made by IGC. IGC takes the great legacy of GTN and builds on it, providing more information in an increasingly user-friendly way. The majority of the system is unclassified, however, access is strictly limited because of the sensitive nature of much of the content. As the single authoritative source of logistics data, IGC truly provides the most accurate information to the user and allows seamless integration of complex shipment and tracking information to the ever-increasing demands of logistics management. It is clear that, with the advent of IGC, the best just keeps getting better. DTJ Mr. Wald is a Lockheed Martin program manager responsible for development, operations, and maintenance of the Global Transportation Network. He retired from the US Air Force in 1996 with more than 26 years of service as a Transportation and Logistics officer, including 13 years of Joint Service. The last four of which were at USTRANSCOM. Mr. Wald also serves as the NDTA Central Region President.


Steaming jungles, blazing deserts, frozen mountaintops. No matter where the dinner order comes from, we’re the reason MREs are never MIA. For more than 160 years, APL has been working to ensure our service men and women always have what they need to get the job done. Our unparalleled experience in ocean transportation and in-country logistics sets us apart from the competition. APL’s successful, long-standing relationship with the military proves that we have the resources and know-how to deliver when it counts. We won’t let you down, and more importantly, we won’t let down the troops who rely on the supply chain. We pride ourselves on being the mission critical link to success for our military yesterday and today, and we’ll be there for our troops tomorrow. To learn more about how we serve those who serve, visit www.apl.com.

U.S. Flag Services


Who we are. Where we’re going. How we’re getting there.

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Navy RADM Mark Buzby, commander, MSC, greets civil service mariners aboard MSC fleet replenishment oiler USNS Joshua Humphreys in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. USN photo by Master Chief Miguel Reyes. Top: MSC fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson operates alongside Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland for a replenishment at sea during Pacific Partnership 2011 in the Solomon Sea, less than a day before rescuing five Solomon Islands natives stranded at sea. USN photo by MC2 Michael Russell.

fter almost two years at the helm of Military Sealift Command (MSC), I’ve gained a unique perspective on who we are as a command and what we do for the Navy, the Department of Defense, and the nation. We are a worldwide organization of professional civilian mariners and Navy sailors afloat and equally qualified maritime transportation and other support specialists and sailors ashore. There are about 10,000 of us, and more than 80 percent serve afloat daily on MSC’s average of 110 active ships. If you’re in the surface Navy, you see the black, gray, blue, and gold stack stripes of our Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships every time a fast combat support ship, fleet replenishment oiler, or dry cargo/ammunition ship pulls alongside to deliver your fuel, spare parts, mail, and food, especially ice cream! But combat logistics support for the Navy fleets isn’t the only part of our mission. Most folks don’t see our white-hulled Special Mission ships because they’re always in far-off corners of the world, charting ocean bottoms, gathering undersea in-

telligence, and supporting submarine and special warfare requirements and a host of other tasks for organizations and agencies throughout the federal government. Meanwhile, our prepositioning ships stage the combat equipment, ammunition, fuel, and basic supplies for all the US armed forces at sea, near the world’s “hot spots,” ready for delivery to combat forces when the balloon goes up. MSC also delivers the day-to-day combat equipment, supplies, and fuel to US warfighters around the world in response to tasking from USTRANSCOM. Another area that always involves MSC ships is providing sea-going platforms for civic assistance and humanitarian relief. When you see the hospital ships USNS Comfort or USNS Mercy traveling to our neighbors and friends along the Pacific Rim or in Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea, that’s part of our worldwide mission. We’re also a growing operation, adding new ships and missions as we demonstrate our capabilities and expertise to a growing customer base.

By Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, USN, Commander, Military Sealift Command 10 |

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At Your Command. BNSF is standing by, ready to supply you with efficient and dependable military transport. In addition, we’re proud to offer employment opportunities for individuals after military service.

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We recently added the Navy’s two submarine tenders to MSC operations using hybrid crews of civil service mariners for basic ship operations and Navy sailors for the mission crews tasked with submarine maintenance. At the same time, five more Lewis and Clark–class dry cargo/ammunition ships have joined the MSC fleet for improved combat force logistics at sea, and we’ve placed two newly built, double-hulled tankers under long-term charter to meet the fuel transport needs of the Department of Defense. The new ships and missions coming to MSC are indicative of the high level of trust in which we are held by the Navy and all of DOD. We’ve developed a reputation for getting the job done efficiently and effectively. Strategic Priorities As many of you no doubt are also aware, the Secretary of Defense has issued very strong marching orders concerning the

Provide ships ready for tasking We’re looking at our operations and maintenance processes to make sure we’re able to meet the Navy’s operational requirement of availability 270 days of the year with ships that are crewed with the right number of highly trained personnel. We’re also constantly looking at maintenance contracts to get the best repair value for our ships. This means our ships spend less time in maintenance facilities and more time at sea, meeting our customers’ needs. Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, our subordinate command in Norfolk, VA, conducted a complete review and scrub of our standard shipyard contracts. For the past year, MSFSC has been using innovative dual-ship contracts to reduce costs and reduce source selection workload while still achieving excellent performance. MSFSC has also developed principal port engineer training programs and created electronic tracking tools for the port engineers’ change requests and standard work

Sailors and civil service mariners assigned to hybrid-crewed, MSC-operated submarine tender USS Frank Cable lower a 3000-pound inert torpedo onto a munitions transport during a training exercise. USN photo by MC2 Jeremy Starr.

future budget. My concern is that if we don’t take a good look at our own operations and how we spend tax payers’ money, then someone else will do it for us, and we’ll just have to abide by the results instead of having any control over them. To that end, I’ve developed a set of four strategic initiatives for MSC that will help us focus our organization, gain even more efficiencies, and help shape our own future. 12 |

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items. We’re fine tuning our ship maintenance plans with an eye toward ensuring we get every bit of service life from our ships. Develop, enhance, and enable our workforce Tell a steam engineer to fix a high-voltage control panel problem armed only with a maul and a slugging wrench, and he’ll probably figure out a way to do it—but

September 2011

you’re not likely to get a very elegant solution to the problem. A much smarter and more efficient approach is to give the right person—with the right training, experience, and tools— the right amount of time and maximum encouragement. They’ll not only solve the problem, but also complete the mission better, faster, and more economically than it’s ever been done before. MSC people are the well-spring of our past accomplishments and our future triumphs. Competition for bright, young talent is fierce in today’s job market, and leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of our current employees is critical, too. That’s especially true when you consider that a large percentage of MSC’s workforce will be eligible for optional retirement within 10 years. Their knowledge and skills must be passed on; we can’t afford to lose them. One recent initiative instituted formal leadership training for more than 1500 mid- and senior-level afloat leaders. The emphasis in this training is skills such as conflict resolution and employee empowerment. It’s been extremely well received—our mariners want more! We’re also looking at significant overhaul to our personnel management system of detailing, training, granting time off, and making promotions. We absolutely must do this to attract and retain a talented workforce. Focus on the customer While we’re doing these internal checks and developments, we will remain totally aware of our need to focus the results of our efforts on the customer. Since I wear multiple hats, we’ve got a lot of customers. The Navy combatant fleet needs our combat logistics capabilities at sea. TRANSCOM requires our cargocarrying expertise for DOD cargo delivered to customers worldwide. All armed services rely on us to preposition combat gear, fuel, and ordnance at sea. Then there are our Special Mission platforms that provide undersea intelligence, oceanographic survey, submarine, and special warfare support and a host of other services in the far-flung corners of the world. No, we do not lack for customers; so we rightly need to focus all our improvement efforts with our customers’ mission requirements in mind.


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Manage organizational change and growth By most measures, we are executing our mission well today, but that doesn’t automatically mean we’ll be doing a great job tomorrow. In the near-term years ahead, there is no doubt that MSC is going to have more responsibility, but with smaller budgets. I believe that MSC has two options: react to whatever comes and be changed by someone else, or be proactive and pursue effective change that we can help control. Option two gives us more time to make reasonable accommodations to the changes that are coming and allows us to make MSC an even more effective and efficient organization. Much of “big Navy” has adopted an organizational structure called Competency Alignment. The commands (and outside organizations) that have done this have proven to be very agile and flexible and now have superior capabilities. They are able to execute their missions strongly, yet maintain highly motivated people who have broad depth and background in multiple areas of expertise. At MSC, we are in the process of realigning ourselves in this way. Competency alignment should be transparent for MSC’s mariners and sailors afloat. The basic premise is to structure our shoreside functions, roles, and responsibilities into “communities” that can provide the best services to meet mission needs. Our communities are our N-codes (N1 Personnel, N7 Engineering, etc.) where our people have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to deliver the services needed by our program managers to support our ships at sea, delivering products and services to our customers in the Navy and throughout DOD. Our N-code leaders will have full responsibility to provide the best-trained workforce and missionready equipment to our program leaders. Today, MSC has small groups of people from many of the N-codes placed throughout the command. That’s because the right people should be in the right place at the right time to make everything happen. But tying all these professionals to communities so each group of professionals has standards, practices, and processes that are common across MSC will inevitably lead to greater efficiency. It’s not a major reorganization; it’s just lining up everyone to perform the mission better. Make no mistake—MSC delivers today. We are one of the most cost-effective and 14 |

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MSC civil service mariners operate a utility boat to carry passengers to and from hospital ship USNS Mercy in Cambodia during Pacific Partnership 2010. The civilian mariners also operate the ship, providing navigation, engineering, deck, galley, and laundry services aboard the 894-foot vessel. USN photo.

MSC civil service master Capt. Randall Rockwood and a Panama Canal pilot radio information as hospital ship USNS Comfort transits the Panama Canal while deployed in support of Continuing Promise 2011 April 26. Continuing Promise is a five-month humanitarian assistance mission to Central and South America and the Caribbean. USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia D. Goosic.

September 2011


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capable elements of today’s Navy. But, if we look closely, we can find new ways to make ourselves even more effective and mission capable. This will help us offset the fiscal realities that are coming our way. Recent operations I’ve had the opportunity to travel to most of the areas where MSC in particular— and US-flagged shipping in general—operate around the world. I’ve been able to visit more than 60 of my ships and crews. I was even able to get down to Antarctica this past January to observe the Operation Deep Freeze resupply mission at McMurdo Station—that was an experience! Earlier this year, we were involved in Operation Tomadachi—the Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief effort. Eight MSC ships were involved. One of my smallest ships made the biggest impact. Captain Ed Dickerson and his 30-person crew plus a Navy dive team aboard rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard were assigned to help clear the northern Japanese port of Hachinohe. Safeguard arrived with side-scan sonar, worked her way in, found debris, and within an hour started working. Almost immediately, she had removed 5 tons of debris to permit a tanker with urgently needed heating oil to get in to the port.

Meanwhile, fast combat support ship USNS Bridge, led by Capt. Steve Perdue and his 170-person crew, sailed in company with the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group west of Japan and provided some of the earliest relief efforts using two embarked helicopters to transfer supplies ashore. On the other side of the world, hospital ship USNS Comfort was involved in a five-month humanitarian/civic assistance mission to the Caribbean and Central and South America this summer, visiting Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Peru. As with previous Continuing Promise missions, more than 100,000 patients felt the healing touch of physicians and technicians from the United States and other, non-government organizations during the mission. Between the numerous exercises worldwide in which MSC participates and the nearly constant rescues-at-sea that our ships and people facilitate, MSC has almost become an instrument of national policy and a definite show of care and compassion to the world. I’m truly proud to command this vital part of the Navy and the DOD. Future plans As many of you probably are aware, the Secretaries of the Army and Navy con-

cluded an agreement whereby MSC will crew and operate the five Army joint high speed vessels in addition to the Navy’s five. The first four will be CIVMARcrewed, and the other six will be crewed by commercial mariners. The first ship, USNS Spearhead, delivers to MSC early next year, then one more each year thereafter. We’re forming the initial crews of 21 mariners per ship now, and the first ship will likely be based in Little Creek, VA. By year’s end, MSC will be operating the sea-based X-band radar ship, and we’ve just begun working the charter for a heavy-lift ship to transport airships. Add to this mobile landing platforms for the Maritime Prepositioning Force, a new fleet replenishment oiler being developed, and potentially the replacement ships for our fleet ocean tugs and rescue/salvage ships, and you can see how MSC is growing. In the near future, you’ll begin to see a newer, even more effective and efficient Military Sealift Command delivering the goods for our warfighters wherever, whenever; responding to humanitarian/disaster relief missions to help alleviate suffering for people around the world; and being flexible and agile enough to meet any mission requirement for TRANSCOM, Navy, or the DOD quickly and effectively. MSC delivers! DTJ

MSC rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard sails into Hachinohe harbor March 25 to help clear wreckage so other support ships can enter safely in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. USN photo.

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September 2011


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Part I of a two-part article on challenges facing the DOD. Continuation and conclusion will appear in the December 2011 issue of the DTJ.

By Mike Young

M

odernizing the Department of buy from company A or company B, the organizations, eliminated whole echelons Defense (DOD) organization world’s largest public corporations modiof management, increased individual prousing known blueprints from fied their organizational and accounting ductivity, optimized its supply chain, and the marketplace will allow the DOD to constructs to be more agile, autonomous, provided its investors complete transparremove $100 billion from its anency to its management and businual baseline budget without cutness successes or shortcomings in ting a single weapon system pronear real time. Each employs a traditional top-down gram. Pretty bold statement, but In organizational terms, the autocratic, bureaucratic, mechanistic line take it to the bank. DOD, its five Under Secretaries, fifteen Defense Agencies, ten Joint The Department of Defense and staff organization. The organization by Combatant Commands, and its (DOD) approach to organization design is slow to move on an opportunity, three Service Secretariats remain was once the organization conorganizationally in the backwaters struct most copied by large corposlow to innovate, slow to respond to of the middle of the last century. rations in the 1950s. Back when complaints about product or service, risk Each employs a traditional topGeneral Motors was the largest down autocratic, bureaucratic, employer in the country, the comaverse, and often if not always has very mechanistic line and staff orgapetitive landscape did not change complex and confusing chain of command. nization. The organization by devery often, and firms were able to sign is slow to move on an opporsell everything they made to the tunity, slow to innovate, slow to domestic market. This managerespond to complaints about product or ment construct was put in place to reduce self-contained, accountable, and successservice, risk averse, and often if not always the chance to make mistakes and preserve ful. Global conglomerates opted to set has very complex and confusing chain of the status quo. Most companies produced up semi-autonomous strategic business command. The old organization cannot their overall profit and loss statements for units (SBU) who are solely responsible keep up with the speed of change. The the company as a whole, masking how each for their success or failure. In concert with old organization is bloated with overlapbusiness unit fared. To say the competitive the organizational change, companies adping and duplicative functions. The old landscape has changed significantly since opted profit center accounting practices organization does not provide incentives the 1950s would not do it justice. whereby each business unit inside the corto the employees to improve their proOver the past 30 years, in response to poration is a stand-alone unit responsible ductivity. The old organization does not investor insistence for clarity, global comfor its profitability, allowing management incentivize management to flatten their petition, and a customer with access to all and its investors to see exactly which units organization; in fact, it incentivizes them the information necessary to make an eduare doing well and which ones are not. To to do the exact opposite. The old organicated value-driven decision on whether to survive, they slashed overhead, merged First published in Small Wars Journal, May, 12, 2011; NDTA is grateful for reprint rights. 18 |

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September 2011


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Secretary of Defense

DOD Board of Directors Chairman Joint Chiefs  Chief, Human Resources Chief Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Chief Procurement Officer General Counsel Chief Strategy Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Corporate Initiatives DOD Intelligence Officer Chief Public Affairs Chief Legislative Liaison Dir Admin & Mgmt

Deputy Secretary of Defense

USD Global Defense & Assistance (GD&A) Principal Deputy Vice Chairman,  US Americas  US ASIAPAC  US EMEA  US STRATCOM  US INETOPSCOM 

US SOCOM  US JINSUPCOM 

USD Recruiting, Training & Education (RT&E) Principal Deputy MILDEP (JOINT)  USD Community & Professional Support (C&PS) Principal Deputy MILDEP (JOINT)  USD Product Development & Manufacturing (PD&M) Principal Deputy MILDEP (JOINT)  USD Industrial Support & Repair (IS&R) Principal Deputy MILDEP (JOINT) 

Secretary of the Army

Army Board of Directors Chief of Staff, Army  Chief, Human Resources Chief Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Chief Procurement Officer General Counsel Chief Strategy Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Corporate Initiatives Army Intelligence Officer Chief Public Affairs Chief Legislative Liaison Dir Admin & Mgmt

Deputy Secretary of the Army

ASA Global Defense & Assistance (GD&A) Principal Deputy CG Army Combat Forces  CG US Army AMERICAS  CG US Army ASIAPAC  CG US Army EMEA  CG USARSTRAT  CG ISRNETCOM 

CG USARSOC  CG INDSUPCOM 

CGI CORPS  CG 3 Corps  CG5 CORPS  CG 7 Corps  CG 18th ABN Corps  CG 101st AA Corps  Brigade Combat Teams & Specialy Brigades

ASA Recruiting, Training & Education (RT&E) Principal Deputy CG TRADOC  ASA Community & Professional Support (C&PS) Principal Deputy CG C&PS  ASA Product Development & Manufacturing (PD&M) Principal Deputy CG PD&M  ASA Industrial Support & Repair (IS&R) Principal Deputy CG IS&R  CG Business Units & General Managers /

Secretary of the Navy

Navy Board of Directors Chief of Naval Operations  Chief, Human Resources Chief, Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Chief Procurement Officer General Counsel Chief Strategy Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Corporate Initiatives Navy Intelligence Officer Chief Public Affairs Chief Legislative Liaison Dir Admin & Mgmt

ASN Global Defense & Assistance (GD&A) Principal Deputy CC Naval Combat Forces,  CC US Navy AMERICAS CC US Navy ASIAPAC CC US Navy EMEA CC USNSTRAT  CC ISRNETCOM 

CC NAVSOC  CC INDSUPCOM 

CC I NAV Corps  CC 3 NAV Corps  CC 5 NAV Corps  CC 7 NAV Corps  CC 9 NAV Corps  CC 11 NAV Corps  Navy Combat Groups & Specialty Groups/Brigades

Chief of Staff, Air Force 

Chief Strategy Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Corporate Initiatives Air Force Intelligence Officer Chief Public Affairs Chief Legislative Liaison Dir Admin & Mgmt

20 |

ASN Recruiting, Training & Education (RT&E) Principal Deputy CC Navy RT&E  ASN Community & Professional Support (C&PS) Principal Deputy CC Navy C&PS  ASN Product Development & Manufacturing (PD&M) Principal Deputy CC Navy PD&M  ASN Industrial Support & Repair (IS&R) Principal Deputy CC Navy IS&R  CC Business Units & General Managers /

Secretary of the Air Force

Air Force Board of Directors Chief, Human Resources Chief, Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Chief Procurement Officer General Counsel

Deputy Secretary of the Navy

ASAF Global Defense & Assistance (GD&A) Principal Deputy CC Air Force Combat Forces,  CC USAF AMERICAS CC USAF ASIAPAC CC USAF EMEA CC USAFSTRAT  CC ISRNETCOM 

CC USAFSOC  CC INDSUPCOM 

CC I USAF Corps  CC 3 USAF Corps  CC 5 USAF Corps  CC 7 USAF Corps  CC 9 USAF Corps  CC 11 USAF Corps  USAF Combat Groups & Specialty Groups/Brigades

Defense Transportation Journal

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September 2011

Deputy Secretary of the Air Force ASAF Recruiting, Training & Education (RT&E) Principal Deputy CC USAF RT&E  ASAF Community & Professional Support (C&PS) Principal Deputy CC USAF C&PS  ASAF Product Development & Manufacturing (PD&M) Principal Deputy CC USAF PD&M  ASAF Industrial Support & Repair (IS&R) Principal Deputy CC USAF IS&R  CC Business Units & General Managers /


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zation is not easy to understand who does what, to whom, and when. The focus is blurred and accountability suffers as a result. Note the term “old;” unfortunately it is really “current.” The richness of the United States and its citizens’ willingness to spare nothing to ensure the country is able to preserve its way of life is legendary. In President Kennedy’s inaugural address 50 years ago, he advised the world “. . . that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” No one questions the military’s or the country’s willingness to do what it takes “to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” To date, the Defense Department has taken his words “we shall pay any price” literally to mean send money and people. Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (CJCS) has gone on record stating the national debt is the number one threat to our national security; and yet the fundamental military combat strategy in all venues is to never go to a knife fight with a knife. Something has to give. The country faces the worst economic conditions in 80 years; it has $17 trillion of debt. The country incurred most of that debt to fight wars, provide money for infrastructure enhancements to facilitate trade, incubate new technologies in all disciplines, and provide social support programs for its citizenry. One would think, because of the state of our nation’s economy, that the President, DOD, and Congress now have the closest thing to a “burning platform” to make radical change in the way DOD and the Services operate internally as well as the way they each work with the Congress to manage the nation’s defense. The President called it “our generation’s Sputnik moment” is his 2011 State of the Union address. If one took a poll of the DOD employees the day after the speech, do you think we would find the vast majority of the DOD community “burning” to lead the charge toward remaking the DOD into the most cost-effective, efficient, and accountable military in the world? On the emotional level, how do DOD, Services, and Congress see and feel the need to change? Virtually all of the discourse on how to effect change tells us substantive change cannot grow roots unless the senior leader is leading (not man22 |

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aging) and championing change and the people involved have a cathartic experience that provokes an emotional response that helps them see and feel the need to do something. It is not hard for the change agents to see and feel the problem. The challenge is how to viscerally connect with a significant portion of the organization. On the analytical level, the question before DOD and Congress is how do they acknowledge these facts and produce a politically acceptable management model? What model will allow the DOD to maintain civilian control of the military establishment, collapse duplication of common skills and management echelons, and still provide Congress the visibility into how DOD manages their investments and the President the capability to support the country’s global national security agenda? The core challenges facing the DOD today: • Congress imposes administrative requirements that by their very nature introduce a lot of work for the sake of information and oversight. This is their way to impose their will upon and manage DOD and the Services and hold them accountable. Unfortunately, it perpetuates illogical procurement practices that ultimately increase the landed price of the asset. • DOD may not make any changes without Congressional approval. How many businesses would survive if they had to go to their stockholders to get approval each and every time they wanted to close a factory, lay off people, hire a CEO, promote an executive, buy a product, or change the way they are organized? • Civilian control of the military has led to an organizational approach where civilian and military staffs are virtual mirrors of each other. • There isn’t any distinction between a business and a cost center. • Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) staff manages a number of line organizations directly engaged in warfighting and support. • The military “Christmas tree:” Echelons of command remain in spite of advances in technology that would logically allow them to eliminate the extra layer of dialogue. • Each echelon of command replicates the staff structure above, again in spite

September 2011

of the enabling technology to remove and/or consolidate them. • Compensation plans do not provide the workforce with any incentives to optimize. • The existing culture agrees philosophically that there is waste, but it is someone else being wasteful. There are four phases DOD will need to successfully complete in order to transition from the most expensive and lethal military to operate and maintain to the most efficient, sustainable, and lethal military to operate and maintain. These phases are not serial once DOD starts the first phase.

There are four phases DOD will need to successfully complete in order to transition from the most expensive and lethal military to operate and maintain to the most efficient, sustainable, and lethal military to operate and maintain. These phases are not serial once DOD starts the first phase. Phase I will be the easiest to execute, but hardest to start. This is the building block phase. This is where the DOD leaves the comfort zone of its current manifestation, decides to take the leap into the unknown, re-organizes the corporation along SBUs, and separates cost centers from business entities. This phase will produce a minimum five SBUs and three cost center groups. It eliminates duplicative staff between OSD and the Joint Staff. It eliminates the practice of having staff manage line organizations. It eliminates duplicative staff between the Service Secretariat, the military HQ staff, and the major commands. It consolidates a number of headquarters staffs whose lines of work are closely related. Using the Army as an example, they will be able to close a minimum of 25 center or command headquarters in this phase. And it completes the transition to joint objectives as envisioned by the Goldwater-Nichols legislation of 1987. Phase II will be much harder and will have more emotion involved. It still is an organization alignment exercise, but this one will explore and eliminate echelons


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of command because technology enables them to do so. This is where the military Service Chiefs will have to bite the bullet on their watch and lead the effort to winnow down the senior officer “Christmas tree.” This is also where DOD will adopt a much leaner management model within the remaining companies themselves. Lean is defined as “doing more with less. Use the least amount of effort, energy, equipment, time, facility space, materials, and capital—while giving customers exactly what they want.” It is designed to remove duplicate functions at each management level. It is designed to eliminate waste in any business process. In this phase, again using the Army as an example, they will be able to close 30 command headquarters. Of the commands remaining, their staff structure will become much leaner. Each HQ will have a commander, a director of operations, a director of industrial support, and a director of community support. The director of operations fills the role of commander in his/her absence. Deputy CGs will disappear. Everyone will work in the command center; there is no staff. They will not replicate cost centers below the SBU. Phase III, which has proven to be intractable to date, centers on getting the internal DOD businesses to operate col-

History tells us that without outside forces pushing the envelope, the status quo will own the day. lectively and collaboratively on a unified business platform. The savings achieved in the first two phases will appear trivial compared to the savings phase III will deliver. Again using the Army as an example, this is where the Army will take advantage of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software they have selected by adopting an entirely different approach to fielding software across the Army. Phase IV will be the hardest because it will require Congress and DOD to collaborate and agree to modify business practices in areas of budgeting, acquisition, spending, resource management, asset management, and compensation plans. This section is a summary of types 24 |

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of things that need to be addressed, since in reality, this section alone could be the subject of another paper. Given the challenges noted above, it would seem that unless the DOD and by inference the Service Secretaries take a step back and view themselves as a group of business teams that could be led, evaluated, managed, and compensated in terms of a business, progress toward providing the kind of visibility, efficiency, and accountability one would expect from a publicly traded company will languish. More importantly, each team needs to find the gut-wrenching event that makes it clear to the team members what is at stake if they are not successful. And Congress must be a partner willing to take a fresh look at how they work with the DOD. They can no longer treat the DOD as a jobs program for their respective districts. It is time Congress and the Defense Department drop the gloves, open the books, evaluate how they work with each other, and move out briskly to effect the needed changes: the status quo will not do any longer. Phase I Walt Kelly’s immortal phrase coined on an Earth Day poster in 1970 really does capture the essence of the challenge facing DOD. “We have met the enemy . . . and he is us.” The arrogance of the status quo has been and still is easily the single most common source of impediments to human progress; and it is not constrained to any specific discipline. The history of scientific progression is littered with examples of arrogance stifling alternative views that conflict with accepted thinking. The history of religion is rife with horrific pogroms intent on stifling or even worse, eradicating, those who choose to worship their deity in their own way. The fact that the same chemicals that constitute your physical self also govern your emotional self is a fact that even today is difficult for many to accept. When your emotions become unbalanced, you are a whack job in need of adult supervision in a lockup; when your lungs fill with fluid, you are sick and in need of care. And so it is with organizational change. Things like “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” perpetuate the status quo. “It’s good to be king.” “I like things just the way they are.” “The stockholders are happy, I’m happy.”

September 2011

History tells us that without outside forces pushing the envelope, the status quo will own the day. In the main, the only thing the status quo needs to diminish the challenge is to ignore it or at the very least scoff at the person promoting the idea as some insipid intellectual lightweight. Nothing of value could possibly come from such a dolt. But should the idea start to gain some followers, it also tells us the status quo will spare no fury and leave no stone unturned to squash the upstart who has the temerity and gall to present an idea that challenges the way the status quo does things. The paper declares unequivocally that the Congress of the United States and its Defense Department must embrace radical organizational change in light of today’s economic challenges. It spares no punches. The US has the finest military in the world; and yet, were it not for countless improvements in the technology of war and conflicts that didn’t fit the model of conflict they prepared and planned for to shock the status quo, it would still prepare to fight the Spanish American War on horseback. If BG Billy Mitchell, USA, were still alive, he could relate. One of the sacred tenets of our Constitution calls for civilian control of the military. Beginning with President Washington, each subsequent President has deemed it appropriate to have a cabinet to help him manage the business of government. There have been several iterations of this model, but the basics are the same. The political leadership has its staff, and the military leadership has its staff. Some will say it is a “partnership,” but the fact remains that each staff duplicates the other. The overriding premise of this construct has been two-fold. The nation’s military is under civilian control, and the civilian leadership jealously guards this prerogative. That said, the military is equally jealous about its self worth and has always felt that it had to have its own staff to “interpret” the political guidance to the field commanders so that military people could relate to military people. After 20 years at war, the political and military echelons in DOD and the Service Secretariats have never worked more closely and in concert even though these two entities still operate as separate staffs. If Secretary Gates brought in Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of General


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Electric, how do you think he would structure us? What would be the art of the possible if they were to look each other in the eye and say, “Do you think this construct has outlived its useful life?” In order to begin the transition from the current management model to one that is more accountable, DOD will need to put in place an executive management team modeled after the publicly traded companies. All publicly traded companies and most private companies have an outside board of directors. Their role is to represent the shareholders’ interests, provide advice and counsel to the Chairman

The successful large global multi-national conglomerates that have met and dealt effectively with the rate of change in the 21st century have moved to a SBU construct at the macro level. This model empowers each leader of their respective SBU to semi-autonomously manage their organization. Hire, fire, train, organize, budget, account, innovate, produce, and profit are all in his/her control. Similarly, each business unit within the SBU has the same autonomy. of the Board as he/she works with the CEO leading the company, secure an outside audit firm to inspect the books, and in many cases determine the company’s executive management team. The traditional US management model is “one guy is responsible for everything.” All roads lead to the CEO. In US publicly traded firms, the Chairman of the Board, more often than not, is also the CEO. Underneath the CEO are the President and Chief Operating Officer. All businesses and support cost centers report to this person. If DOD went with the typical US model, the Secretary of Defense would be the Chairman and CEO, the Deputy Secretary of 26 |

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Defense would be the Vice Chairman of the Board, and the CJCS would be the President and Chief Operating Officer; all of the Under Secretaries and Service Secretaries would report to the CJCS. Given the need for civilian control, this model would not be feasible.

seem reasonable that Congress would be amenable to repealing the myriad of laws that introduce so much nonproductive work over and above what is already an excessive overhead structure. By eliminating all of the reporting in exchange for adopting the standard industry require-

Secretary of Defense = Chairman of the Supervisory Board Deputy Secretary of Defense = co-CEO of Executive Board for product development and resourcing Chairman Joint Chiefs = co-CEO of Executive Board for sales, support, and service

DOD Supervisory Board of Directors

DOD Executive Board of Directors

Board Chairman: SECDEF (has the President’s proxy)

DEPSECDEF: Co-CEO for Product Development

Director, National Security Council

CJCS: Co-CEO for Operations

Secretary of the Treasury

Secretary of the Army

Secretary of the Veterans Administration

Secretary of the Navy

Secretary of State

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If DOD adopted a prevailing European public corporate governance model, they could work within the intent of the founding fathers and always have civilian control of the military. Their public corporations have two boards: a supervisory board and an executive board. The supervisory board is elected by the shareholders to provide oversight over the executive board. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board is the leader of the company. The Supervisory Board decides how many members are appointed to the Executive Board and who is to serve as chief executive officer (the CEO or co-CEOs). The chairperson of the Supervisory Board regularly meets with the Executive Board or the co-CEOs to discuss their strategy, current progress in business, and risk management. The executive board in technology companies is often chaired jointly with co-CEOs. One CEO is responsible for operations (delivery) and customer relations (outside), and the other CEO is responsible for product development and resourcing (inside). In addition to providing a model for leadership, adopting the board could also be employed as the medium to collaborate with Congress. In so doing, it would

September 2011

ment to report progress every quarter, Congress would have a steady view of the comings and goings at DOD. It seems reasonable that Congress would be willing to drop the “colors of money” management approach in exchange for access to the books. Lastly, DOD should be compelled to certify their statements each quarter as well as file an annual report to the stockholders. DOD may be scoped to five strategic business units Businesses are organized along common principles. All businesses have profit and cost centers. Whether the business is for profit or a nonprofit is of no relevance; the business fundamentals are still the foundation for success. Companies still need people to do the work, leaders and managers to develop, and resources to produce and/or deliver capability (service) or product, account for and control the outcome, and provide the unqualified audit of the “books” for open stakeholder and regulatory review. The successful large global multinational conglomerates that have met and dealt effectively with the rate of change in the 21st century have moved to a SBU construct at the macro level. This model


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Cut at line & mail or fax to: National Defense Transportation Association | 50 S. Pickett St., Suite 220, Alexandria, VA 22304-7296 | (FAX) 703-823-8761

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 nonpolitical 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.

Corporate Membership Corporate membership in NDTA provides increased exposure and networking opportunities for those companies wanting to do business with the US government or military. Membership should be a key part of any business plan where the defense and government transportation, travel, and logistics system is the target market.

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September 2011


empowers each leader of their respective SBU to semi-autonomously manage their organization. Hire, fire, train, organize, budget, account, innovate, produce, and profit are all in his/her control. Similarly, each business unit within the SBU has the same autonomy.

more discrete and identifies exactly what the USD is focused upon. Likewise, each SBU in each Service rolls up to its corresponding Executive Vice President and Group President (Under Secretary of Defense), whose role is to keep track of each corporation’s input to that line of business.

Looking at the figure above, the operations business as depicted in gold is the reason the founders formed the company. It is what they do. The operations business has outsourced resourcing and support internally to the conglomerate. The resourcing business, enabled by money, secures the company capital assets depicted in silver, and the people depicted in red deemed necessary to conduct the business in the market that the company was formed to compete. The support and services portfolios, depicted in brown and green, provide the means necessary to make sure the operations business continues to operate smoothly and without delay and support for the well-being of the employees. With this in mind, the DOD and its three corporate entities each could be repurposed to operate five lines of business and cut the budget by $25 billion. The Defense operations business (Global Defense and Assistance) outsources its resourcing requirements to two business entities: Recruiting, Training, and Education for its people and Product Development and Manufacturing for its equipment. It also outsources its support requirements to two others: Industrial Support and Repair for its resources and Community and Professional Services for its infrastructure. Using the same leadership model as the Defense Secretariat, DOD may repurpose the existing USD staff construct into one that is

1. USD, Recruiting, Training, and Education (RT&E) (Resourcing) – Recruiting, Training, Education – Business Travel, Personal Property, Payroll, Housing, and Relocation Services – Talent Management and Assignments 2. USD, Product Development and Manufacturing (PD&M) (Resourcing) – Aviation and Missiles – Ocean and Water Craft – Tank, Automotive, Construction, and Material Handling Equipment – Satellites, Communications, and Electronics – Munitions and Weapons – Special Weapons – Individual Gear – Fuels, Lubricants, and Chemicals – Medical Systems and Technology – Business Systems and Technology 3. USD, Global Deterrence and Assistance (GD&A) (Operations) – Regional Operations and Assistance US Asia Pacific Command (USASIAPACOM) US Europe, Middle East, and Africa Command (USEMEACOM) US America’s Command (USAMERICOM) – Global Deterrence US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

– Global Support US Joint Industrial Support Command (USJINSCOM) US Intelligence and Network Operations Command (USINETOPSCOM) 4. USD, Industrial Support and Repair (IS&R) (Support) – Medical, Dental, and Veterinary Services – Engineering and Construction Services – Wholesale and Consumer Retail Trade – Warehouse Management, Storage, Customs, Transportation, and Distribution – Equipment Repair and Refurbishment – Energy Management, Waste Management, and Disposal – Network Operations, Communications, and Intelligence 5. USD, Community and Professional Services (C&PS) (Support) – Inspections, Audits, Testing, Environment, and Safety – Legal, Contract Management, Insurance, Financial, and Physical Security Services – Real Estate, Installations, Communities, and Hospital Management – Morale, Welfare, Religious, and Recreation Services

Chief, Human Resources Chief Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Chief Procurement Officer General Counsel Chief Strategy Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Corporate Initiatives DOD Intelligence Officer Chief Public Affairs Chief Legislative Liaison Director, Admin and Management

As mentioned, this model empowers each leader of their respective SBU to semi-autonomously manage their organization. Semi-autonomous implies that there is some overarching framework to which all the business leaders must conform. That is true. The framework represents the cost centers of the corporation. www.ndtahq.com | 29


Typically, every organization has three functional cost center groups. The most common is the “set the table” group. They are responsible for framing the rules by which the company will operate. The second group is the “plot the future” team. The third group is the team that communicates with the public. Today companies rarely, if ever, replicate cost centers below corporate because technology allows consolidation without impacting the conduct of business and provides as good or better service. That means the SBUs do not need this overhead. They focus on the business . . . their customers. What all of these companies recognized is that their approach enabled the leadership to focus on their respective businesses. They learned that if they focus and align more precisely, efficiency followed. Focus bred efficiency. They also learned that their investors would not tolerate a board of directors that convened to just rubber stamp the CEO’s desire. They insisted on accountability and a voice at the table. A Service organized into five SBUs Modeled after the DOD Similarly, at the corporate level (Army, Navy, and Air Force), this model allows each Service Secretary to collapse the Secretary staff, the military counterpart HQ staff, and the MACOM HQ staff responsible for operating the line of business from three echelons of staff into one SBU at the Secretariat level. Using the Army as an example, the Army Secretariat would look like this: Secretary of the Army = Chairman of the Army Supervisory Board Under Secretary = co-CEO for product development and resourcing Chief of Staff, Army = co-CEO for sales, business operations, support, and service

The leadership of each line of business would look like this: ASA, Recruiting, Training, and Education (RT&E) = EVP and Group President PDASA = co-CEO for product development CG TRADOC = co-CEO for sales, support, and service ASA, Product Development and Manufacturing (PD&M) = EVP and Group President

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PDASA = co-CEO for product development CG AMC = co-CEO for manufacturing ASA, Global Deterrence and Assistance (GD&A) = EVP and Group President PDASA = co-CEO for product development CG FORCES = co-CEO for sales, support, and service ASA, Industrial Support and Repair (IS&R) = EVP and Group President PDASA = co-CEO for product development CG IS&R = co-CEO for sales, support, and service ASA, Community and Professional Services (C&PS) = EVP and Group President PDASA = co-CEO for product development CG C&PS = co-CEO for sales, support, and service

This allows the Services to comply with public law that directs certain functions like finance and acquisition be managed at the Secretary level. Even more important is that the “staff ” is actually running a well-defined strategic business unit. Summary of Part I Part I makes the case that the Department of Defense has remained virtually static organizationally while the world of business has had its hands full keeping their heads above water. In 1996, Dr John P. Kotter wrote in his groundbreaking book, Leading Change, “The typical twentieth-century organization has not operated well in a rapidly changing environment. Structure, systems, practices and culture have often been more of a drag on change than a facilitator. If environmental volatility continues to increase, as most people now predict, the standard organization of twentieth century will likely become a dinosaur.” Further, he went on to say, “The rate of change in the business world is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up over the next few decades. Enterprises everywhere will be presented with even more terrible hazards and wonderful opportunities driven by the globalization of the economy along with related technological and social trends.” DOD is way late to the party. In the 15 years since Leading Change was published, the static state DOD finds itself looks like this. Its overhead is excessive which means DOD has extraordinarily large complements of people who do not pull triggers in contrast to those that do. This fact translates into billions of dollars spent that

September 2011

do not improve capability or value. Each internal DOD organization that provides support to the combat team is a monopoly. They do not have any competition to drive an ongoing evaluation of the way they operate. The DOD operates as a cost center; without employee incentives to reduce the cost to operate the center, their objective is to spend everything allocated. The leadership is incentivized to increase their staff because pay and position is based upon the

They learned that if they focus and align more precisely, efficiency followed. Focus bred efficiency. They also learned that their investors would not tolerate a board of directors that convened to just rubber stamp the CEO’s desire. They insisted on accountability and a voice at the table. number of people under their supervision . . . not for producing a quality product or service for an industry leading price point. Each Service manages 80 plus distinct business entities and a dozen cost centers, but you would not know that looking at the organizational structure. 80% of the businesses each Service manages are the same type of business as its sister Services; the only difference is the type of team they produce. Its organizational structure has enabled the stovepipe functional domains to purchase and develop thousands of duplicative or overlapping business systems. After many billions of investment to automate its business processes, the cost to run DOD has gone up and DOD is unable to pass an unqualified audit. Its organizational structure also has too many people with overlapping roles, thereby diluting accountability. In contrast, over the past thirty years, in response to market forces, all of the leaders of the world’s largest public corporations modified their organizational constructs to be more agile, autonomous, self contained, accountable and successful. They had to respond to survive. They have taken advantage of technology to slash overhead, merge organizations,


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eliminate whole echelons of management, increase individual productivity, optimize its supply chain, and provide its investors complete transparency to its management and business successes or shortcomings in near real time. The speed of information, disconnected from the confines of four walls permeates the individual consciousness with osmotic efficiency 24/7/365. The country has been at war continuously for an unprecedented length of time. The country is in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s. Unemployment hovers around 9.5%. And interestingly enough, the wages and benefits public employees earn have come under fire. Why do we have so many of them? Why do they have better benefits and earn better wages than an equivalent role in the private sector? What if Congress reacts to this and drops an indiscriminate meat axe to the DOD budget? It is already happening.

technology, adopt new leadership alignments and establish firm and measurable accountability. DTJ J. Michael “Mike” Young is a logistician with a major in business software that facilitates business operations (logistics). A twenty-year veteran of the US Air Force, Mike has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Georgia and “knows enough about object oriented programming, user interface, and database design to keep out of trouble.”

The Small Wars Journal, which granted reprint rights to NDTA to publish “The End State,” facilitates the exchange of information among practitioners, thought leaders, and students in order to advance knowledge and capabilities in the field. The term, “Small Wars” suggests “big undertakings, demanding a coordinated ef-fort from a huge community of interest. . . . Watch for Part II

They had to respond to survive. They have taken advantage of technology to slash overhead, merge organizations, eliminate whole echelons of management, increase individual productivity, optimize its supply chain, and provide its investors complete transparency to its management and business successes or shortcomings in near real time. Leadership has been loath to change the way they do business. It is highly likely that DOD will need to find $100B per year in hard dollar savings from its top line budget. The first step towards addressing this challenge is to adopt the strategic business unit construct outlined above and merge the civilian and military leadership structure. But it truly is the beginning. Making the change will provide the organization an architectural framework for the leadership to build upon. The most challenging work will begin in Phase II where they will face the need to lean out the new organizations, eliminate echelons of command mad superfluous by www.ndtahq.com | 33


SDDC Conducts Munitions Emergency Response ROC Drill and Exercise By Surface Deployment and Distribution Command

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n February 16, 2011, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), in collaboration with the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA) Surface Committee, sponsored a Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill and tabletop exercise at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, to rehearse roles and identify potential gaps in emergency incident response for surface transportation of DOD Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives (AA&E). Due to the safety and security risks associated with transporting explosives and other sensitive material throughout the US, it’s imperative that the DOD and its commercially contracted AA&E carriers clearly understand and execute the emergency response and notification process. Though DOD and its carriers have a robust response and notification capability, this exercise brought key response organizations together for the first time to demonstrate and potentially enhance those capabilities.

Background All trucks carrying DOD AA&E throughout the US are equipped with real-time satellite tracking and communications technologies, which allow truck position reports to be automatically routed and shared with SDDC’s DTTS. DTTS is a computer-based system monitored by a staff that provides 24-hour oversight of sensitive DOD shipments, moving via commercial motor carriers throughout the United States and Canada. In FY2010, DTTS tracked more than 73,000 motor shipments. Any incident associated with a DTTSmonitored shipment is reported to the DTTS Operations Center located at SDDC headquarters. DTTS personnel use digitized mapping and pre-loaded shipment information to notify local first responders and provide the nearest police and fire departments with the location and contents of the shipment.

Key Players The key players included SDDC’s Defense Transportation Tracking System (DTTS), Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams, Quality Assurance Specialists–Ammunition Surveillance (QASAS), and AA&E shipping and receiving activities. These representatives hailed from various SDDC staff agencies, the Joint Munitions Command (JMC), Defense Ammunition Center, and the Army’s 20th Support Command. Besides DOD participation, the day included briefings and exercise participation from commercial AA&E carriers, state and local first responders, and the Department of Transportation. This broad participation highlights the many agencies involved in a response

Meeting Format Following opening remarks from Major General Kevin A. Leonard, SDDC’s Commanding General, a previous ABC News 20/20 episode was shown to help illustrate both the potential consequences of an incident and the importance of a strong emergency response capability. The segment was titled “The Day they Bombed Checotah,” and it documented the 4 August 1985 incident where a truck loaded with ten MK-84 2000-pound bombs collided with an automobile on Interstate 40 near Checotah, Oklahoma, at approximately 3:30am. The automobile’s fuel tank ruptured and spilled gasoline, which quickly ignited. Subsequent explosions from the bombs destroyed the

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to and follow-up after an accident or incident involving AA&E.

September 2011

vehicles and left a crater in the roadway 27 feet deep and 35 feet across. Three hundred seventy-one residences were damaged. Other buildings, including a school located 734 feet from the accident site, suffered substantial damage. Forty-nine people reported to a hospital emergency room for treatment of injuries, most after breathing smoke and gases burning tritonal. There were no fatalities, largely due to the early morning timing of the accident, but also because of the actions taken

Though DOD and its carriers have a robust response and notification capability, this exercise brought key response organizations together for the first time to demonstrate and potentially enhance those capabilities. by the truck driver to quickly evacuate the area. Following the video, the event was broken into two sessions. The morning session included a ROC drill where the key players briefed their unique responsibilities, procedures, concerns, and challenges as they relate to an emergency response.  The afternoon session included a tabletop exercise where the key players participated in a simulation of notional emergencies involving motor shipments. Four scenarios were exercised with two on safety and two on security. The safety scenarios included a truck being involved in a minor accident that resulted in damages to the blocking and bracing of the cargo and a severe accident that resulted in a detonation of


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A facilitator led the action players through each scenario and periodically interjected new information and questions to spur discussion. The intent of the exercise was not to test the participants; rather it served as an opportunity to share information and identify potential gaps in an informal environment.

Photos of accident near Checotah, OK, 4 August 1985.

explosives. The security scenarios included an incident where a truck driver witnessed and reported suspicious activity while on the roadway and the hi-jacking of a truck.

Lessons Learned and Takeaways The ROC drill and table top exercise proved to be very effective methods of clarifying roles and responsibilities across organizations. The event reinforced many of the things that DOD and its partners do well, but also highlighted some areas for further assessment. As with any meeting involving experts from multiple areas of discipline working their way through a particular process, issues are identified for re-evaluation. This drill was no different. The issue of tasking authority and process for deploying QASAS, or their Service equivalent, to an in-transit incident revealed itself as needing more clarification. QASAS can provide on-scene expertise in explosives

safety, handling, packaging, and blocking and bracing. The tabletop scenarios also helped identify some areas where carriers should offer additional training and education to their employees and drivers. Some of these areas included responsibilities for obtaining in-transit support (eg, tow trucks, material handling equipment), protocols for cleaning up an accident scene, and reacting to incidents involving fire. Next Steps SDDC and the NDTA Surface Committee have developed an action plan to address potential gaps and issues that were identified during the event. Industry and government leads have been assigned and are collaborating to work each issue. Overall, attendees provided extremely positive feedback on the event format and effectiveness for clarifying roles and identifying gaps. Most attendees recommended that SDDC conduct other ROC drills and exercises using different scenarios, commodities, and modes of transportation in the future. DTJ

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These accomplishments would have been impossible without effective, responsive, and agile industry support. By George Topic, Vice Director, The Center for Joint and Strategic Logistics, National Defense University and William Kenwell, Senior VP & Chief Commercial Officer, Maersk Line, Limited

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ne of the great enablers of our nation’s military is the support of the commercial sector, and there is no better demonstration of this than the government–industry partnership that has provided distribution support to our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The front page of the Washington Post recently trumpeted our collective efforts in Afghanistan as “a logistical miracle.” The longstanding relationship between the DOD and the commercial transportation industry has shown the value of collaboration through this massive undertaking. The transportation industry is doing a great job in supporting our nation’s objectives, and we see the distinct nature of the distribution function as one of the reasons we work so well together. The winding down of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is an important time to recognize this effective partnership and highlight future challenges that will shape the relationship. As our troops have led the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, the partnership that has formed between the many government agencies, commercial carriers, and other firms involved in the distribution enterprise have opened and maintained supply lines through Pakistan and via the northern borders, facilitating much needed capabilities that DOD could not have independently developed. Commercial carriers have integrated new tracking technologies that have provided military planners with greater visibility and information to manage their supply chains in some of the harshest regions in the world. Execution success has been a key factor in the development of the partnership and our nation’s defense. The past ten years have seen a remarkable collection of accomplishments by the distribution community in supporting our government’s widely distributed global operations, two major combat theaters, 38 |

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and countless short-fuse, high-impact requests for support. The opening of the Pakistan ground line of communication (PAKGLOC), the incredible effort undertaken to deploy MRAPs and MATVs to Iraq and Afghanistan, the massive logistics support for our forces in theater, and the unprecedented effort to establish the Northern Distribution Network all showcase the impact and criticality of our community’s work. These accomplishments would have been impossible without effective, responsive, and agile industry support. Similarly, the level of performance we have witnessed would not have been possible without the support, leadership, and spirit of partnership of senior leaders at USTRANSCOM and its components and the entire government distribution enterprise. These successes have produced an even closer and frankly more important set of bonds resulting in significant improvements in performance and enhanced support to operations worldwide. The military distribution system rides to a great extent upon the network and infrastructure that the commercial sector has developed, and through this we share common support and parallel capabilities. It is, however, expensive for large commer-

September 2011

cial carriers to tailor their products and services to unique military applications, so in many cases the DOD has adjusted its policies and processes to work within the commercial framework. DOD has witnessed substantial progress in its distribution performance, and now more than ever we need to press forward to build and sustain a set of shared objectives across its entire logistics enterprise. It is clear that sustaining a partnership of military distribution and building even stronger relationships is essential to providing this critical component of military capability in support of our national security. Effective management of a large, extremely complex and demanding supply chain requires much more than simply periodic engagements and pro forma meetings, and as with all large supply chains, getting the distribution process right is essential to satisfactory performance. The keys to improving performance lie in collective planning, open communication, and trust. The nature of military operations makes planning a challenge, especially when commercial support is required. We need to create and implement contractual arrangements that enable us to work together from the very beginning of any


endeavor. Similarly, we need to design ways to ensure that our commercial sector remains robust and agile so it can rapidly respond to operational requirements without undue cost to the US government. Industry also must seek to help the government improve its processes and explain how the government can make changes that will reduce the costs. Even though it is counterintuitive to tell a customer how to pay less for your services, companies must take a longer term view. The bottom line is that there is a balance that must be found that helps reduce price while improving overall service and gaining customer loyalty. In the end, the military will have more confidence in the commercial carriers and companies will have a better knowledge of the requirement. We all realize that our nation and the DOD are facing significant fiscal challenges that will cause some substantial reductions in programs and services. The partnership is clearly capable of meeting these challenges, and it behooves the military to continue looking for ways to leverage the strengths of commercial firms, like

taking advantage of carriers’ knowledge and long-term presence in almost every country in the world. The cornerstone of any partnership is trust. This requires all parties to accept some prudent risk, and for the other members of the enterprise to minimize or mitigate these risks. Through trust, we will create a climate where industry and government see new problems as an opportunity to innovate and create new solutions together. Building a true partnership and a pervasive spirit of trust across large and diverse organizations is always a cultural challenge, and it is true for commercial and military leaders. The element of the answer to this challenge is open and effective communication. Only with open communications can we reduce risk through the sharing of information, ideas, and objectives, especially in the planning of an effort—great or small. Effective communication will strengthen trust, and with greater trust we can simplify the distribution process. Simplification in contracting, reporting, and execution will reduce costs by eliminating

unnecessary administrative burdens felt by government and industry—simplicity is the next distribution evolution. Commercial service has evolved from port-to-port to point-to-point distribution, and carriers are now asked to marry land, sea, and air modes in coherent services. All of this is possible, and carriers are willing to develop new and ambitious supply lines. However, without a concerted effort to simplify, new concepts and approaches will come too slowly and at a much greater cost. Building trust is the work for the long haul, and we are in this together for the long haul. The successes of the recent past and the truly excellent performance of the supply chain today offer just a glimpse of what is possible tomorrow. DOD supply chains have benefited from collaborative planning and integration to deliver goods and materiel at unprecedented speed, precision, and agility. Our community needs the ideas and creativity of all of its members to take on the challenges before us, and we look forward to a spirited dialogue at the NDTA Forum in Phoenix to shape military distribution for tomorrow. DTJ

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from the ndta chairman Raymond P. Ebeling, Chairman & CEO, American Shipping & Logistics Group Chairman, NDTA Board of Directors

Welcome to Phoenix and NDTA’s 65th Forum—Rising to the Challenge!

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s you are all aware, we are convening in Phoenix on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th tragedy. That anniversary is a good time to reflect, realize the truism that freedom is not free, and honor the dedication, commitment, and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who have been at war for nearly 10 years defending our freedom. It is also a good time to remind ourselves that supporting those warfighters is the ultimate goal of our transportation and logistics services, as well as the focal point of this Forum, and of NDTA itself. This year’s theme is “Rising to the Challenge,” and we jointly face many challenges indeed, from finalizing the Iraq drawdown to continuing to develop the amazing transportation and logistics service network serving Afghanistan to preparing to deal with potentially dangerous developments elsewhere in the Middle East and the world. We will also be challenged by the forthcoming DOD budget cuts of hundreds of billions of dollars, and by the major—perhaps 50 percent or more—reductions to global military traffic we will experience in the coming years, as the DOD adjusts to those budget cuts, and as US global deployments and activities change dramatically. These developments will create serious threats to

the very existence of certain Sealift and Airlift carriers and their asset bases. Paradoxically, all of this is happening at the same time that the strategic value of those industry partners is increasing and is becoming increasingly apparent. Rising to this challenge will occupy our attention in many future Forums. Additionally, we will be challenged by the very natural development that as money gets tighter and times get tougher, we will all experience more pressure on rates and profits. These developments could result in frayed relationships in the industry–government partnership. Therefore, it is more critical than ever that industry and government leaders stay focused on shared objectives, understand and appreciate each other’s long-term value, candidly discuss and resolve challenges, and maintain true partnership thinking. “By the time I get to Phoenix,” you will be rising to the challenge of serious session topics, innovative expo displays, and the opportunity for networking, socializing, and learning. We have a fantastic line-up of keynote speakers, and we will honor some most deserving leaders at the Chairman’s Dinner Tuesday night. I look forward to seeing you in Phoenix. Thank you all for attending and for your support of NDTA.

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Forum moderators

Forum Volunteers Thank you to our 2011 NDTA Forum Volunteers! They make it HAPPEN!

Welcome to Phoenix! Welcome to the NDTA Forum and Expo! Welcome back Chapter Members! Welcome new friends and guests!

BG Mark Scheid, USA (Ret.)

CSM Tomás R. Hawkins, USA

Director, Business Development Teradata Corporation

Senior Enlisted Leader USTRANSCOM

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his past year, our great nation has faced many challenges as we continue to fight the War on Terrorism, struggle internally with economic challenges, and rebuild from natural disasters. As we continue to move forward, many nations anxiously watch our every move as they count on the United States to remain the cornerstone for their own world peace and economic growth. Despite our many internal challenges, the United States remains the leader of the free world. We will continue to be counted on to keep the world safe. For many nations, their prosperity depends on our economic, military, and political support. We must never let ourselves or them down. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the NDTA. Our Association’s first get together took place 65 years ago at the Palmer House in Chicago on November 13-14, 1946. During that first convention. Major General Edmond H. Leavey, Chief of Transportation, offered a message that is still echoed today: “. . . it is important that the convention should not be merely a place where people talk. We should join in a constructive program to utilize the suggestions and criticisms that have been made here.” At this Forum many things occur. Old friendships are renewed, and new friendships are made. But we must not forget that the real relevance of this Forum is the accomplishments that come from the collaboration of good ideas and stimulating conversation between our military and civilian industry partnerships. Decisions made here have world wide implications. This year is a special year. It marks the 10th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States on our own soil. It is fitting that during this Forum we not only converse to solve current issues, but also honor all military personnel, both those serving and those who have served. We are proud to be here with you on the occasion of our 65th Forum.

Jim Burkhardt Alicia Clark David Clark Betty Cozart Dale Cozart Ben Cross Terri Dalton Patsy DeMichele Karen Edwards Lisa Fasching Taylor Fasching Mickey Frank Kent Gourdin Ben Jetton Marlene Jetton Donna Johnson Belissa Lea Caron Martin Ronald Martin Tina Martin Marshall McMickell Mike McVeigh Colt Meyer Amanda Noble Bob Reilly Marie Rohrbough Stephen Rohrbough Cindy Thurgood Craig Thurgood Jason Trubenbach Irv Varkonyi

Scholarship events YRC Worldwide Fiesta at Corona Ranch

NDTA Scholarship Dinner, “Embracing Challenge” Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 5:30-9:30pm

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Scholarship Event at Alice Cooperstown

NDTA Forum Golf Tournament

Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 • 5:30-7:00pm Hosted by FedEx

The Legacy Golf Course • Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 6:30am (bus departs) • 8:00am (tee time) Hosted by Delta Air Lines

September 2011


Exhibitors and Sponsors

As of August 18, 2011. Please see additional listings in the Forum Exhibitors and Sponsors Directory

exhibitors AAT Carriers ABF Freight System, Inc ACTCO – Afghan Container Aeros Agility Defense & Government Services Air Compassion for Veterans AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc. American Gold Star Mothers American Military University American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Anchorage CVB APL Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Avis Budget Group Bennett Motor Express, LLC Black Bird Travel Boyle Transportation Cavalier Logistics Central Gulf Lines, Inc. CGI Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Choice Hotels International Colorado Technical University Coyne Airways Limited Coyote Logistics, LLC/ General Freight Services Inc. Crowley Maritime Cubic Global Tracking Solutions Damco DB Schenker Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration DHL DLA Distribution CX Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Door to Door Storage Inc

Erudite, Inc Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Farrell Lines FedEx Custom Critical FedEx Government Services Final Mile Logistics First Observer/OOIDA General Dynamics GlobalTrak Grand Canyon Railroad Greatwide Truckload Management Hanjin Intermodal America, Inc. Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC Hilton Worldwide Horizon Lines, Inc HQ SDDC Hub Group IBM InterContinental Hotels Group Kalitta Charters Landstar System Inc. LMI Lockheed Martin IS&GS M2 Transport Maersk Line Limited Martlin Distributing Matson Mayflower McCollisters Transportation McLeod Software Mercer Transportation Co., Inc. Mi-Jack Products, Inc. Military Family Readiness Initiative Military Sealift Command MOAA National Air Cargo National Railroad Memorial, Inc.

Navatech USA NDTA HQ NDTA North Pole Chapter NDTA Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) Chapter Numerex Corp Overwatch, Inc. Pak Shaheen Group Panther Expedited Services, Inc. Passport International, LTD Pilot Freight Services PODS Enterprises Inc. Port of Port Arthur Port of San Diego Portus Priority Solutions International Raith-CTS Logistics Reserve Officers Association SkyBitz Supreme Group USA LLC The Hertz Corporation The Pasha Group The Port of Virginia/ Virginia Port Authority Total Quality Logistics Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. Trailer Transit, Inc U.S. Army Transportation Museum U.S. Bank USO U.S. Transportation Command United Seamen’s Service Universal Truckload Services United Van Lines UPS YRC Worldwide, Inc.

sponsors APL Avis Budget Group Baggett Transportation Company Bennett Motor Express Best Western International Booz Allen Hamilton Boyle Transportation Chalich Trucking Inc. Choice Hotels International DB Schenker Delta Air Lines DHL Extended Stay America Farrell Lines

Fed Ex Government Services Fikes Truck Line Final Mile Logistics FMN Logistics HP Enterprise Services Hyatt Regency Phoenix IBM InterContinental Hotels Group Landstar Systems, Inc. Lockheed Martin Maersk Line, Limited National Air Cargo Pilot Freight Services Port of Port Arthur

R&R Trucking Ridgeway International Rock-It-Cargo SAIC Southwest Airlines Supreme Group The Hertz Corporation The Pasha Group Transportation Institute Transportation Management Services (TMS) UPS Vocollect (VISA) YRC Worldwide

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Professional Sessions

speakers (in order of appearance)

MONDAY Scorecards and Best Value—Commercial Surface, Sealift and Airlift Metrics and Carrier Selection VADM Mark Harnitchek, USN, SC Deputy Commander, USTRANSCOM Commercial Travel Programs and Shrinking Travel Budgets From Management Trainee to the Executive Suite VADM Gordon Holder, USN (Ret.), Senior VP Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. AT21—Government Expectations Corey Kirschner, PMP, AT21 Program Manager USTRANSCOM/TCAQ-M

Keynote Speaker

Featured Speaker

Scott Davis

Alan Estevez

Chairman and CEO, UPS

Assistant Secretary of Defense (L&MR)

Government/Industry Best Practices for DPS Fran Vollaro, Senior VP, Relocation Services, The Pasha Group Defense Personal Property Program (DP3) John Johnson, Chief Personal Property Branch, SDDC

TUESDAY In the AOR with Our Young Leaders Jason Trubenbach, HQDA G-4 OSD Transportation Policy Vision for the Future (DTCI Follow-on, Regionalization of HHGs) Don Stanton, DASD (TP), and Lisa Roberts, DDASD (TP), OASD (LMR)

Guest Speaker

Featured Speaker

VADM Mark Harnitchek, USN, SC

Patrick Morello

Deputy Commander, USTRANSCOM

Director of Purchasing Navistar Defense, LLC

Featured Speaker

Roundtable: Standing Watch with the Stars

Leveraging Social Media in Logistics Kirstin Knott, Director, FedEx Government Services Strategic Trends and Future Lift Requirements (Surface, Air, Sea) BG(P) Michael Lally, USA, USTC J-3 The International Perspective Kurt Lengert, NDTA European Region President United State Central Command (USCENTCOM) Logistical Challenges and Issues Colonel Robert Stine, Chief, Mobility Division, USCENTCOM Directorate of Logistics

Gen Raymond Johns, USAF

Wednesday

Special Presentation: Sizzling from the Farm to NASCAR: Supply Chain & Social Media Best Practices from the Miles Smith Farm to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway

AMC Commander

VADM Gordon Holder, USN (Ret.) Senior VP Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.

Carole Soule, Loudon, New Hampshire Farmer & Entrepreneur Ted Rybeck, Chair, Benchmarking Partners Small businesses count. According the US Small business Administration, small businesses make up 99.7% of the 30 million enterprises in the US and Canada employing just over half of all private sector employees and generating 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years. But most small businesses missed the upside from Web 1.0 Internet commerce, and now feel like they might miss the Web 2.0 social media upside as well. This talk will describe how leading community enterprises from the Miles Smith Farm to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway use Big Ten social media channels to grow their businesses by listening to and engaging with their customers. Small businesses like these aim to lead the next generation of Internet commerce through localized and specialized social media promotion of their products and services.

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September 2011

Featured Speaker

Featured Speaker

Gen Duncan McNabb, USAF

Eric Haseltine, PhD

Commander USTRANSCOM

Director, Haseltine Partners


The NDTA has a number of internal awards that recognize individual members who have excelled in fostering the goals and aims of NDTA. These awards include NDTA National Transportation Award, National Defense Leadership Award, NDTA Distinguished Service Award, NDTA President’s Special Achievement Award , NDTA Distinguished Government Service Award, NDTA President’s Award, Young Executive of the Year Award, the Colonel Norbert Grabowski Membership Recruiting Awards, NDTA Distinguished Service Award; and NDTA Corporate Distinguished Service Award.

NDTA national transportation award

Mr. Robert K. Coretz Chairman & Co-Founder Omni Air International

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ob Coretz is chairman of the board and co-founder of Omni Air International. He was born and reared in Tucson, Arizona. The fourth of four children, Rob learned at an early age that integrity, persistence, and personal relationships are the keys to success both personally and in business. Even though business is a passion for Rob, his five children and wife of 24 years, Kim, will always be priority. After teaching himself securities trading at age 16, Rob interned at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. After graduating with an Electrical Engineering and pre-med degree from the University of Arizona, Rob became a commodities trader and worked at the exchange for two years until he got his first taste of aviation working with his father-in-law in the late 80s. Rob’s first assignment was working for a very experienced and impatient aircraft heavy maintenance representative overseeing major modifications of Boe-

ing 747 aircraft. Rob’s knowledge grew from this hangar experience to starting an FAA certified 121 air carrier in 1993, Omni Air Express (OAE). OAE specialized in providing Boeing 727 freight services to Emery Worldwide, BAX Global, DHL, and UPS. Building on the success of OAE’s cargo operations, Rob made the decision to invest in DC10 aircraft and entered the passenger charter market in 1997. At that time, the name was changed to Omni Air International (Omni), as the company is known today. The company has grown from the OAE days when employees numbered in the 10s to today where Omni employs more than 1100 professionals. During this time of slow controlled growth, Rob and the team he built have achieved many accomplishments. Under Rob’s leadership, Omni received approval from the Commercial Airlift Review Board to fly US troops for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program under DOD’s United States Transportation Command. Omni was only the second airline to achieve ETOPS (extended overwater operations) approval “out of the box” when the company added Boeing 757 aircraft to its certificate. Omni, in October 2000, was selected to return the surviving members of the USS Cole after the terrorist attack in Yemen. The airline was again selected, in August 2005, to repatriate 467 Moroccan POWs to their homeland after more than 20+ years of

imprisonment in Algeria. Omni was the first responder when US citizens were airlifted from Cyprus after the Israeli–Lebanon war. Omni was a first responder after the devastating earthquake in Haiti and again after the recent tsunami in Japan. While continuing to support our men and women in uniform, Omni has successfully added the modern Boeing 767-300 extended range aircraft to its operations specifications and is leading the industry after purchasing two Boeing 777ER aircraft. Omni is the first charter airline in the United States to fly this aircraft. Just last year, under Rob’s leadership, Omni achieved the International Air Transport Association’s IOSA (International Operations Safety Audit) Registration. Omni is the first charter passenger carrier in the United States to achieve this international safety designation. Rob’s passion for the customer never waivers. He has been a leader in pushing for positive change in the CRAF program. The suggestions from Rob and a coalition of industry leaders have helped shape and modernize this important program for our country, our soldiers, and our national security. Rob never loses sight of the customer and lives by one of his favorite sayings by Thomas Jefferson: “In matters of principle, stand like a rock.” His mantra is, “Do what is right for the customer, and it will always be right for you in the end.” That is sound counsel from this year’s recipient of the National Transportation Award.

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National Defense Leadership Award

Gen Duncan J. McNabb, USAF Commander, US Transportation Command

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eneral Duncan J. McNabb, Commander, USTRANSCOM, is committed to providing outstanding transportation and logistics support to our nation. He leads an organization with $10 billion in annual revenue, 100 plus ships and several hundred aircraft, and worldwide ocean terminal operations and manages programs providing access to the entire commercial transportation industry for additional capability. During his tenure as Commander, US Transportation Command, General Mc-

Nabb has truly transformed the way our nation deploys, sustains, and redeploys its military power. He is a “hands-on” executive who exceeds expectations at every turn. Our warfighters and their families have benefited immensely from his commitment to service and to our nation. A telling example of his leadership is General McNabb’s championing of intermodal operations through the Northern Distribution Network and his managing of intermodal, interagency, and commercial capabilities with strategic vision. This flexible supply line, which relies entirely on commercial capability, now serves as an alternative to the vulnerable ground route that follows the Karachi-Peshawar road through Pakistan that had been utilized exclusively since 2001. After Somali Pirates boarded the Alabama Maersk, he met with Maritime Labor and the leaders of the US Maritime industry and implemented security procedures to protect US Flag vessels. Working with industry, he significantly

changed the CRAF program to achieve a more efficient and effective program. Additionally, he provided the Secretary of Defense with unbiased recommendations to achieve operational efficiencies. USTRANSCOM’s readiness depends on timely access to militarily useful commercial transportation, and General McNabb has consistently fostered a superb, truly collaborative relationship between the Command and the United States commercial transportation industries and supporting labor organizations. This relationship allows the Department of Defense to leverage significant capacity in wartime without the added peacetime cost of sustaining comparable levels of organic capability. NDTA is proud on behalf of so many throughout the spectrum of US military and commercial industry who have benefited from his leadership to honor his achievements through recognizing General McNabb with the National Defense Leadership Award.

NDTA distinguished government service award

Mr. Alan Estevez, SES Assistant Secretary of Defense (L&MR)

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r. Alan Estevez is a dynamic and inspirational leader who achieves results. His dedicated efforts and innovative actions have led to significant changes in the DOD’s support for our forces, placing DOD logistics at the leading edge in implementing best logistics practices. Recognized for his leadership abilities, Mr. Estevez has been nominated by the President for the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness). For the past five years, Mr. Estevez has focused on the results needed to support our warfighters. While driving in46 |

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novative change in logistics practices across the DOD enterprise, Alan never loses his focus on supporting the ultimate DOD customer—our men and women deployed in the defense of our nation. He has been instrumental in the adoption of best supply chain management practices to provide outstanding support to the warfighter. He has distinguished himself through his leadership, integrity, team-play, and ability to identify and implement process changes, which will continue to transform the DOD logistics capabilities, and his ability to build consensus and work with disparate groups, including groups across the federal government, international entities, and commercial sectors. His other accomplishments include leading the DOD’s implementation of the Joint Logistics Capability Portfolio Management Program; co-leading the DOD level review of the Nuclear Weapons–Related Materiel inventory management policies and processes following an erroneous shipment of materiel to Taiwan; leading the Department’s initiatives to achieve asset visibility of items in the supply chain; providing

September 2011

significant policy guidance to US Central Command and the Multi-National ForceIraq (MNF-I) regarding disposition of DOD property; and working closely with key decision makers in the Military Services during the development of the Fiscal Year 2010-2015 budget program to ensure that needed logistics capabilities were appropriately funded in the Service budgets. This process precluded budget assessment battles for resources to fund logistics programs. It is a credit to Alan’s leadership abilities and stature in the community that he was able to achieve agreement within the Services. As an active member of NDTA and officer on the Board of the NDTA Washington, DC, Chapter, Alan embodies the vision of NDTA: “To be the world’s leading professional association for individuals working in the global transportation and logistics industries so we may maximize our contribution to the National security and economic growth of the US.” For these and many more accomplishments, Mr. Alan Estevez is receiving the NDTA Distinguished Government Service Award.


The U.S. Merchant Marine Reaffirming its commitment to the Armed Forces in time of Peace and Conflict

Transportation Institute Working for a Strong American Maritime Capability

James L. Henry President www.trans-inst.org

5201 Auth Way | Camp Springs, MD 20746 | 301-423-3335 | Pacific Coast Office: 2200 Alaskan Way, Ste 110 | Seattle, WA 98121 | 206-443-1738

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NDTA President’s Award

Mr. Robert Agnew

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Ms. Judy Silcox

President, CEO morten beyer & agnew

Key Account Director – Government, Americas Sales InterContinental Hotels Group

r. Robert Agnew, President and CEO of morton beyer & agnew, has over 30 years of experience in aviation and business consulting. His firm provides consulting in the areas of financial modeling, valuation analysis, and technical due diligence. He began his commercial aviation career at Northwest Airlines where he concentrated on government and contract sales, schedule planning, and corporate operations research. Mr. Agnew is an advisor to numerous hedge funds, insurance companies and investment banks on aviation industry issues, and has provided expert testimony for legal cases involving aircraft values and leases, airport usage, traffic forecasting, and contract damages. He has also been active in advising trustees and investors in airline bankruptcies. He serves on the board of Atlas Air, TechPubs, and Stanley Martin Corp. His background also includes 13 years with two international airlines. Mr. Agnew served in the United States Air Force as an Officer and Navigator with the Strategic Air Command. Mr. Agnew has been a member of NDTA since the early 1980’s and recently served on the NDTA board and as Chairman of the Military Airlift Committee. During his six years as Committee Chairman, he worked to ensure industry senior executives participated in the meetings, the agendas included briefings and information of value to the attendees, and there was an open exchange of information and knowledge sharing between industry and government. The Association appreciates his many contributions and recognizes him with the NDTA President’s Award.

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udy Silcox is presented the President’s Award for her long time support of NDTA and its activities. She is an industry veteran with 43 years of airline, travel agency, and hospitality sales experience, with 28 years being focused on the military and government market. She currently serves as co-chair of the association’s Passenger Travel Services Hotel Committee. Her travel industry accomplishments include designation as a Certified Corporate Travel Executive. Judy’s current position as the Key Account Director, Government Global Sales, with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has enabled her to present NDTA’s mission and accomplishments to the highest level of executives within IHG. She has been most persuasive in obtaining their buy-in for a major role in the association. Since 2006, she has coordinated IHG’s hosting of the single most prestigious event of the Annual NDTA Forum—the Chairman’s Award Dinner. Previously IHG has sponsored the International Awards Luncheon, the Recognition and Scholarship Breakfast, the Registration Directory, and the Official Forum Coin. Judy has also been very generous with her time in supporting numerous military service organizations including the USO and Operation Homefront as a Board Member and Treasurer of the DC Metro Chapter. She is very active in assisting military families of deployed soldiers and sailors and wounded warriors and their caregivers. She is a proud Navy mother of LCDR Kimo Silcox, a 1999 Naval Academy graduate. NDTA is proud and honored to present Ms. Judy Silcox with the NDTA President’s Award.

NDTA President’s Special Achievement Award

Colonel Thomas Sweeney, USA (Ret.)

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Central Pennsylvania Chapter

olonel Sweeney is receiving the NDTA President’s Special Achievement Award in recognition of his distinguished service and commitment to NDTA as one of the core group of leaders who maintained

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the viability of and reenergized the Central Pennsylvania Chapter. Tom has been an NDTA member for more than 45 years and has served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the Chapter for the last six years, maintaining the chapter finances, collecting money, and paying bills. A retired Army Colonel and Professor of Strategic Logistics at the US Army War College, he continues to promote strategic transportation issues with national impact through his role on the Cumberland County Transportation Authority and the Emergency Management Board. Through his active involvement as a Chapter board member and Chapter treasurer, Tom is always there to take charge and throw his

September 2011

shoulder squarely into any task required. Tom’s transportation expertise, teaching experience at the Army War College, and his quiet energy have challenged, focused, and motivated the Chapter’s leadership and have made the Central Pennsylvania Chapter a dynamic and relevant professional organization. He has been instrumental in bringing multiple individuals to make presentations on a wide variety of subjects to the membership of the Central Pennsylvania NDTA. He has dedicated his life in the service of the NDTA, his community, and his Nation. Colonel (Ret.) Tom Sweeney is indeed a worthy recipient of the NDTA President’s Special Achievement Award.


Young Executive of the Year Award

civilian

military

Mr. Eric Ebeling

TSgt Daisy M. Galan, USAF

Washington, DC, Chapter

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Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

r. Eric Ebeling is the Vice President and General Manager for the American Shipping and Logistics Group (ASL). During his time with ASL, he has achieved consistently impressive results in a succession of roles with increasing responsibility from various locations including New Jersey, Germany, and Washington, DC, in the areas of Operations, Pricing and Contracting, Sales, and Executive Management. He oversees two major functions within the ASL Group. Within the shipping business, he is responsible for the Profit and Loss management of the American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC) European Service, a role requiring him to provide outstanding service to the US military in Europe, and he succeeded by all measurements. He also serves as ASL’s Manager of Public Relations from the corporate office in Washington, DC, interfacing with the media as the ASL spokesperson on a variety of significant issues and developments. His success in presenting the needs of the US flag shipping industry to members of Congress and to various trade or union organizations made a tremendous contribution to both ASL and to the shipping industry Eric led three NDTA Washington, DC, Chapter projects that markedly improved the image of the chapter and increased its contribution to the transportation and distribution community. First, he led a search to find a new location for our luncheons. The ultimate location, Army Navy Club of Washington, DC, is an historic venue that has enabled the chapter to attract high quality speakers at a reasonable lunch cost. Second, he helped the USO set up a Logistics Advisory Council and represented the Chapter at the USO meetings. As a result, the USO reaches out to the chapter for suggestions on distribution solutions. Finally, Eric led the action for the formal reception, which recognizes National Transportation Week, finding the location, raising donations to cover the cost, and coordinating all details to ensure this event is first class.

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Sgt Daisy M. Galan distinguished herself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States of America while serving as Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge, Small Air Operations, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Sergeant Galan’s brilliant oversight of US Air Force Europe’s (USAFE) largest mobility entity was crucial to the expeditious movement of 324 cargo tons and 571 passengers during the 2010 86th Airlift Wing Operational Readiness Inspection. Her swift actions helped the installation capture an overall “Excellent” rating. Additionally, Sergeant Galan choreographed a 12-nation deployment package, inserting 65 troops in the Area of Responsibility (AOR) in just under six hours. Possessing a broad level of expertise in the Defense Transportation and Logistics arena, she was instrumental in forging a solid relationship between the Department of Defense and the carrier industry. Sergeant Galan’s particular focus has been on reengineering the Defense Transportation System and modernizing the logistical enterprise within the Department of Defense, civilian industry, and with coalition countries throughout Europe. The distinctive accomplishments of TSgt Galan in support of the mission of the Defense Transportation System, through the National Defense Transportation Association, have been outstanding and have undoubtedly stimulated NDTA’s growth and development. She richly deserves recognition through the NDTA Young Executive of the Year Award.

Colonel Norbert Grabowski membership recruiting awards Chapters Category I

A-35 RECRUITER and TOP OVERALL RECRUITER

Outstanding Recruiters of 2011 Ms. Penny Cacoulidis

Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

Cape Fear Chapter

Category II

SSgt Justin Stevens Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

San Antonio Chapter

Category III Washington, DC, Chapter

Mr. Joe Escalera Regimental Chapter

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ndta distinguished service awards

Lt Col Cliff Altizer, USAF

Ms. Donna Biffar

TSgt Daniel A. Briscoe, USAF

Ms. Angela M. Burrill

Ms. Tara Feilmeier-Novak

San Antonio Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Charleston Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Mr. Norm Galer

Mrs. Kristian Howe

Lt Col Donna Johnson, USAF (Ret.)

Mr. Paul Kozak

Mr. Frank Langbein

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Charleston Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

European Region

COL Rod Mallette, USA (Ret.)

Mr. Chuck Muscio

CAPT James Naber, USN (Ret.)

Ms. Michelle Quidachay

Mr. Bob Sherrill

Washington, DC Chapter

North Pole Chapter

Central Pennsylvania Chapter

Micronesia Chapter

North Pole Chapter

Mr. Scott Stewart

COL Richard Thompson, USA (Ret.)

Ms. Jennifer L. Tubb

Mr. Marty Usher

SMSgt Jamie L. Vanoss

JSS Productions, Inc.

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Scott-St. Louis Chapter

Fern Expo

Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

ndta corporate distinguished service awards APL, Limited American Shipping & Logistics Group Atlas Air Worldwide, Inc. Avis Budget Group Bennett Motor Express Boyle Transportation CSX Transportation Cubic Global Tracking Solutions DB Schenker DHL

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FedEx Government Services The Hertz Corporation IBM InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Landstar System Lockheed Martin Maersk Line, Limited National Air Cargo Norfolk Southern Corporation Panther Expedited Services, Inc. |

September 2011

The Pasha Group Raith-CTS Logistics R & R Trucking, Inc. SAIC SkyBitz, Inc. Supreme Group, USA Transportation Institute UPS YRC Worldwide


ndta scholarship recipients – national level program a

Tyrunsia Wren Jones

Danielle Braswell

Dale Eshbach

Vonda Provoid Young

Brian McSteen

University of Maryland

program B (High School)

Trevor Santor

Samuel Hall

Kaycie Harmon

Jordan Spice

American Military University

Pennsylvania State University

American Military University

Jonathan Grunewald Maine Maritime Academy

Howard University

Christopher Hewett

Auburn University Duke University

Grand Canyon University Jacksonville University

Grayson LeCompte

American Military University

Jacksonville University

Samantha Keshner

Julia Logan

University of Maryland

University of Virginia

Alison Levin

Dylan McSteen

University of Maryland

Campbell University

Solomon Miiro

Courtney Orvig

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

George Mason University

Mario Ortega

Auburn Powell

American Military University

Oklahoma Baptist University

Dallas Schroeder

Jaymie Ross

University of Maryland

University of Oklahoma

Matthew Steadman

Warren Tanner

University of Tennessee–Knoxville

Jacksonville University

Linda Szabo

Webster University

program B (College)

Michelle Windham

Jonathon Altizer

Derrick Worsley

Olivia Atkinson

American Military University

University of Texas at Austin

American Military University

University of Virginia

NDTA ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS NDTA offers two scholarship/tuition assistance programs that are available to NDTA members and their financial dependents. ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM A: tuition assistance to college students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in transportation, physical distribution, logistics, or a combination of disciplines. ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM B: tuition assistance to college freshmen and graduating high school students planning to attend college. Applicants must indicate that they plan to enroll in an undergraduate degree program (there are no limits placed on the areas of study, but transportation, logistics, and related fields are encouraged). NDTA scholarship/tuition assistance funds can only be disbursed to an academic institution on behalf of the successful applicant. If the institution is not known at the time an application is submitted, the successful applicant must submit documentation showing that he/she has in fact been accepted by an institution as a full-time student before disbursements can be made.

ndta international chapter of the year awards The International Chapter of the Year Award was initiated in 1977 to recognize chapters that have excelled in fostering the goals and objectives of NDTA; promoting an understanding of the importance of transportation to the security of the nation; participating in community service programs; developing quality educational programs for the chapter membership; and providing for chapter growth through effective membership recruiting and retention programs.

Category I Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

The Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter Area of Responsibility covers 19,846 square kilometers (7663 square miles). In this area are numerous military installations, commercial airports, and logistics branches providing logistical needs to the nearly four million military and civilian inhabitants. The Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter has a deepseeded history of integrating logistics into the forefront of our community. What started as a year of humble beginnings due to deployments and operations tempo has ended with a bang. This Executive Council began the year with a Chapter that had 35 members. Since then, the Chapter has multiplied nearly five-fold and is nearing 200 strong with no signs of letting up. Within these impressive numbers is a foundation of A-35 members equating to more than half our members. Clearly this Chapter serves as a clear indication that it

is not only about teaching logistics . . . we are about grooming the next generation of logisticians and leaders. While membership remains important, the Chapter remains engaged on all fronts of the logistics community. Whether planning for participation in a humanitarian exercise or sculpting a Transportation Week designed to build the mind, body, and camaraderie or partnering with our counterparts to truly craft an integrated team of logisticians dedicated to service, the RheinlandPfalz Chapter has demonstrated that it is a mainstay within the organization. It is clearly the obvious choice for the coveted title of International Chapter of the Year. Category II Tampa Bay Chapter

The Tampa Bay Chapter distinguished itself throughout 2010. The chapter meetings are attended by some of the most influential experts in Industry and De-

partment of Defense. Combining efforts of MacDill AFB partners such as CENTCOM, SOCOM, DLA, TRANSCOM, and 6th Air Mobility Wing with industry partners Hapag Lloyd, PODS, Crowne Plaza Hotels, the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, and DHL has resulted in programs that are second to none. The Tampa Bay Chapter looks forward to collaborating with more agencies like the CDC’s Meta-Leadership Summit to support Tampa Bay’s continuity of operations planning and the multitude of DOD agencies that reside in the local area. The Tampa Bay Chapter maintains an active engagement program in the local community, educational membership meetings, and rewarding social events. The Tampa Bay Chapter supports the Tampa Port Authority as it builds a master transportation plan for expanding Tampa’s sealift container industry, and the chapter continues to improve upon its goals and to keep its valuable prowww.ndtahq.com | 51


grams moving forward. The distinctive accomplishments of the Tampa Bay Chapter are worthy of recognition with the International Chapter of the Year Award. Congratulations to Team Tampa Bay! Category III Washington, DC, Chapter

The Washington, DC, Chapter experienced a remarkable year of outreach and engagement throughout the National Capital region. It carried the NDTA message

through a variety of professional programs and community engagements, resulting in greater recognition for NDTA, its guiding principles, and all that it represents. The chapter told the NDTA story in new and innovative ways such as its participation in the Anne Arundel Community College/ TSA Pilot Program to inform and attract employees to TSA and its partnership with the USO through a joint USO-NDTA Logistics Advisory Board, leveraging the capabilities of NDTA members to the ben-

efit of USO worldwide operations. At the same time, the chapter continued its long standing programs of A-35 mentoring, scholarship, public service, and disaster preparedness. Throughout the year, the dedicated DC Chapter members represented the very best of NDTA by their selfless service while creating a positive and supportive environment of professional excellence. For their outstanding efforts, the chapter is awarded the 2011 NDTA Chapter of the Year Award.

ndta international a-35 chapter of the year awards The International A-35 Chapter of the Year Award was instituted in the continuing endeavor to involve young people in the varied programs of the NDTA and to recognize those Chapters that make significant contributions to the furtherance of this goal.

Category I

Category II

Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter

San Antonio Chapter

The Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter started the year with humble beginnings. Deployments and operations tempo had shaken the Chapter to its core, and stagnation is the word that best describes the state of the Chapter as elections approached in October. The new leadership engaged immediately to rebuild the Chapter. This herculean effort could not have been done without a solid foundation of A-35 members who have truly been the bedrock of our organization. Leading the Rheinland-Pfalz A-35 committee is SrA Stephens, TSgt Skinner, TSgt Ogle, and TSgt Galan. This organization has demonstrated from the moment elections were finalized a tireless devotion to involving our A-35 members into everything we do with aspirations of building the next generation of Chapter leaders and first-rate logisticians. From charter development and event planning to fundraising for the stricken people of Japan and jump starting the Chapter scholarship program, the Chapter’s A-35 members have been on the forefront for every event. Clearly it is apparent the dedication this Chapter has for its A-35 members. Being the largest overseas chapter, with the largest base of A-35 members, the Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter is clearly a great choice for the coveted title of A-35 International Chapter of the Year. For the Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter, this is just the beginning of a resurgence not seen in the history of this Chapter. We are striving for new heights . . . and surpassing even our most outlandish goals. Leading the way— our magnificent A-35 membership.

The San Antonio Chapter Action 35 members eagerly arranged and coordinated many chapter events and were very active in other parts of the Association. A-35 members have been elected as officers and to the Board of Directors and have chaired and served on several committees. The San Antonio Chapter A-35ers aggressively promoted the spirit and mission of the NDTA by direct involvement in planning chapter and community activities. For example, as part of the nation’s 2011 celebration of National Transportation Week, A-35ers joined the 902d Logistics Readiness Squadron, Randolph AFB, to initiate and energize local participation in the National Transportation Week 5th Grade Poster Contest. The A-35 members involvement directly impacted the San Antonio Chapter’s ability to provide four thousand dollars in scholarships and educational support for deserving students. Thanks to the Action 35ers, the San Antonio Chapter has made long-lasting and significant contributions to furthering the objectives and goals of the NDTA. The San Antonio Chapter is extremely proud of its A-35 members, as their A-35ers are proud of being a part of the NDTA. They are the very reason the San Antonio Chapter has truly earned the prestigious award of the Category II International A-35 Chapter of the Year.

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Category III Washington, DC, Chapter

Supporting NDTA’s 2011 Forum theme “Rising to the Challenge,” the Washing-

September 2011

ton, DC, Chapter A-35 members rose to the challenge with a truly remarkable year of outreach and engagement throughout the National Capital region. They successfully carried the NDTA message through a variety of professional programs and community engagements resulting in greater recognition for NDTA, its guiding principles, and all that it represents. The A-35 members supported NDTA projects, including the Annual Golf Tournament at Andrews AFB, where more than $5000 was raised for scholarships; the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), which provides supplemental groceries to Arlingtonians who cannot afford to purchase all the food they need; the NDTA Black Tie Reception, led by A-35 member Eric Ebeling, at which a $10,000 check was presented to Camp Hope; and the USO-NDTA Logistics Advisory Board that leveraged the capabilities provided by the various NDTA members and organizations. The A-35 members planned and executed one of the most exciting Scholarship and Education Auctions ever, raising almost $13,000 at this event. In addition, an A-35 member led the Disaster Preparedness Committee, which focused on education of the DC Chapter members. The NDTA Washington, DC, A-35 membership is totally involved in all activities of the Chapter. This involvement, whether in leadership or support roles, is what makes the NDTA Washington, DC, Chapter so successful. The A-35 ladies and gentlemen of Washington, DC, are most worthy of being awarded recognition through the A-35 Chapter of the Year Award.


ndta Military unit of the year awards Since 1966, NDTA has annually honored units of the military services that have performed outstanding service in transportation or a related field. These units are selected by each of the Services and receive the NDTA Military Units Award at the Annual Transportation and Logistics Forum and Exposition.

Army US Army Active component Fusion Company 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment Vicenza, Italy

2-503D Infantry Battalion (IN), “The ROCK,” is an Airborne IN capable of rapid deployment, forced entry, and a full spectrum of operations anywhere in the world within 24 hours and is one of two infantry battalions of the 173D Airborne Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) serving as EUCOM’s rapid reaction force. Fusion Company, a 170-man forward support company (FSC) located in Vicenza, Italy, supports the 2-503D IN. Fusion Company 2-503D provided outstanding and responsive logistical support consisting of transportation, field feeding, maintenance, and resupply to area of responsibility (AOR) ROCK in Northern Wardak Providence, Afghanistan. Many of the 2-503D’s company operation posts (COPs) were in remote locations under heavy enemy fire. Seven of the Fusion Company soldiers received the Purple Heart; one soldier earned a Valor Award. Throughout OEF, the Fusion Company performed 540 combat logistics patrols, drove more than 110,000 miles, and transported ten million pounds of supplies to seven different COPs. Fusion Company also managed a vital helicopter landing zone and provided personnel protection via foot and mounted patrols to facilitate interaction with the government of Afghanistan and the villages surrounding the COPs. In order to improve the relations between International Security Assistance Forces and its Afghan partners, Fusion Company partnered with and provided tactical and technical training to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 2nd Kandak Battalion, giving these forces the skills needed to take over security operations in the area. The Fusion Company’s dedication to mission accomplishment makes it the Army’s Active Component NDTA Unit of the Year.

US Army National guard 1451st Transportation Company 630th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Boone, North Carolina

The 1451st Transportation Company’s mission is to provide transportation support for the movement of dry and refrigerated containerized cargo, general non-containerized cargo, and bulk water. During fiscal year 2010, the 1451st Transportation Company carried out its mission of providing transportation for the movement of containerized cargo by assisting with demobilization support operations for the 30th Brigade Combat Team and 1/130th Aviation Battalion redeployment from support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 1451st Transportation Company completed more than 6000 miles in relocating containers from the Fort Bragg, North Carolina, rail yard back to various armories throughout the state. Because of the 1451st Transportation Company’s dedication to the completion of all its missions, it is named this year’s Army National Guard NDTA Unit of the Year.

US army reserve component 418th Transportation Detachment (TTP) 316th Quartermaster Battalion Fort Sill, Oklahoma

The 418th Transportation Detachment (TTP) served a vital role in sustainment and retrograde operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 12, 2010, through August 22, 2010. The detachment managed the movement control operations for United States Division-North at Company Operating Base (COB) Speicher. It planned, coordinated, and tracked more than 1800 convoys consisting of 76,800 trucks and provided tracking and visibility for more than 8400 containers moving more than $750,000,000 of cargo. The detachment organized a mobile Movement Control Team to support retrograde operations at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Q-West during three separate critical phases facilitating the successful closure of the FOB. The mobile Movement Control Team processed more than 400 pieces of rolling stock and 2500 pieces of non-rolling stock, enabling

100 percent visibility of equipment for onward movement to Kuwait. The team also established a trailer transfer point that resulted in the virtual elimination of convoy downtime. During retrograde operations at COB Speicher, the detachment shipped more than 1500 pieces of rolling stock and 7500 pieces of non-rolling stock out of theater. The 418th Transportation Detachment (TTP) proved to be an important element in the successful deployment and redeployment of the 3rd Infantry Division assets theater wide. The 418th Transportation Detachment’s accomplishments make it worthy to be recognized as the Army Reserve NDTA Unit of the Year.

Marine Corps USMC Active component MAGTF Materiel Distribution Center (MMDC) 1st Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 Camp Pendleton, California

By virtue of its extraordinary service to I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in support of OEF from March–October 2010, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Materiel Distribution Center (MMDC) distinguished itself by establishing a distribution operations foundation that provided sustained logistics support in Helmand Province. The MMDC established a throughput cargo operation to support a force growing from 10,000 to 20,000 Marines and Coalition members, while simultaneously supporting combat operations. Marines and Sailors engaged in combat operations required the establishment of an intricate and robust ground and air cargo distribution operation, which ultimately led to the delivery of 3886 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo critical to the warfighter in more than 150 air missions and more than 300 Combat Logistics Patrols (CLP). In such an austere environment, intransit visibility (ITV) proved to be a challenge. MMDC overcame the challenge by www.ndtahq.com | 53


establishing ITV nodes throughout the province with strategically placed portable deployment kits (PDK) serving as expeditionary RFID interrogators. By increasing active interrogator sites from four to 22 sites, the MMDC provided real-time data on the status of critical materiel. Inherent to combat operations is the personal effects retrograde of those killed or wounded in action. With professionalism and compassion, the MMDC processed and shipped all personal effects from Helmand Province, delivering 927 crates of personal effects with 100% accuracy. MMDC’s professionalism and commitment to mission excellence had a direct and measurable impact on I MEF (FWD)’s ability to surge from a Marine Expeditionary Brigade to a Marine Expeditionary Force and ultimately into Regional Command South West, and justifies MMDC’s recognition as the NDTA Military Unit of the Year.

USMC reserve component

2004 with I Marine Expeditionary Force. In 2006, approximately 400 members of 3rd Battalion 24th Marines augmented 1st Battalion 24th Marines deployment for OEF/OIF. The entire battalion was mobilized and deployed for OEF/OIF; and in 2009, while supporting II Marine Expeditionary Force, it was the last Marine Corps combat unit to leave Iraq. In 2010, approximately 200 members from the 3rd Battalion 24th Marines were deployed to Afghanistan as Military Transition Teams and Security Detachments. In 2011, elements of 3rd Battalion 24th Marines deployed to the Ukraine/Black Sea in support of NATO Partnership for Peace Exercise Seabreeze and to Antigua in support of US Southern Command Exercise Trade Winds. Training consisted of combat firing, counter piracy training operations, non-combatant evacuation operations, amphibious assault, airborne operations, and board, search, and seizure training aboard ship.

3rd Battalion 24th Marine Regiment Bridgeton, Missouri

Navy

In 2011, the 3rd Battalion 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, continued to provide valuable ground support capability to multiple rotations of Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Additionally, the experience of its combat veterans was leveraged to develop and implement enhanced training opportunities for its Marines while participating in an impressive array of training events: serving as the primary support element for Exercise Seabreeze, a EUCOM-sponsored theater engagement exercise in Ukraine/Black Sea, NATO Partnership for Peace; and theater engagement exercise in the Southern Caribbean, Exercise Trade Winds, a US SOUTHCOM-sponsored theater engagement in Antigua. The 3rd Battalion is a Select Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) unit headquartered in Bridgeton, Missouri, with five subordinate elements in Bridgeton and Springfield, Missouri; Nashville and Johnson City, Tennessee; and Terre Haute, Indiana. The battalion has a rich history of augmenting and reinforcing the active component with highly skilled and valuable combat capability. The entire battalion was mobilized and deployed for OEF/OIF in 54 |

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US Navy Active component NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella US Naval Supply Systems Command Sigonella, Italy

During 2010, the professionals of NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Sigonella distinguished themselves through continuous superior service by delivering responsive, agile, and scalable logistics capability to warfighters engaged in operations vital to national interests across Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. Their innovation and laser focus during simultaneous real-world operations, exercises, military-to-military engagements, and ship visits were central to mission accomplishment. NAVSUP FLC Sigonella played a leading role in delivering logistics support during Operations New Dawn, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom, counter-piracy operations, and the Africa Partnership Station mission, as well as short-fused relief efforts in Pakistan, Russia, and Greece. Leveraging a network of logisticians on three continents, NAVSUP FLC Sigonella executed operational and tactical support for joint, multilateral, and bilateral forces, and 20 carrier, amphibious, and

September 2011

surface strike groups operating in a sea space of nearly 30 million square miles. More than 200,000 forward-deployed US personnel serving half a world away from the continental US benefited from NAVSUP FLC Sigonella’s expertise and forward leaning support of current and emerging mission sets. NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella is highly deserving of recognition as the US Navy’s Active Component NDTA Military Unit of the Year.

US Navy reserve component Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Six Four (VR-64) Fleet Logistics Support Wing Joint Base MDL, New Jersey

Established on 18 September 2004, Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Six Four (VR64) is one of five Navy Unique Fleet Essential Airlift squadrons operating three C-103T aircraft. The VR-64 Condors flew more than 3919 mishap-free flight hours, delivered more than 4.9 million pounds of cargo, and transported 3689 passengers and exceeded every Chief of Naval Operations and Commander Naval Air Forces metric for aircraft readiness, availability, and mission accomplishment in 2010. This unmatched operational excellence resulted in VR-64’s winning the 2010 Battle Efficiency Award as the top Navy C-130 unit. The Condors strive to be on the cutting edge of new initiatives while providing unmatched support to fleet and combatant commanders worldwide. The focus of the squadron is unparalleled flexibility and responsiveness enabled by a total commitment to lift engagement and communication. This level of responsive service cannot be found among commercial carrier or sister Services. The fruits of these efforts were demonstrated in 2010 by VR-64’s rapid deployment in support of Haiti relief efforts, its critical contribution to a search and rescue mission in the Marshall Islands, and by VR-64 crews’ successfully completing hundreds of logistics operations in support of Navy and Combatant Commander Warfighters deployed across the globe, from the Arctic circle to the tip of Australia and all points in between. VR-64 richly deserves recognition as the US Navy’s Reserve Component NDTA Military Unit of the Year.


Air Force USAF Active component 721st Aerial Port Squadron 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing Ramstein Air Base, Germany

The 721st Aerial Port Squadron (APS), the largest en route aerial port squadron in the USAF, set the standard for the embodiment of a well oiled, organized, and effective squadron. Home to 542 personnel, the 721 APS excelled at all levels, leading in awards, readiness, deployments, and operational mission support. Whether winning the coveted Air Mobility Command (AMC) Fleet Services Flight of the Year, garnering both the AMC Explosives Safety Plaque and AMC Ground Safety Plaque, earning AMC’s nomination for the Verne Orr award, or receiving an “Outstanding” rating during the AMC Logistics Compliance Assessment Program inspection, the 721 APS “Port Dawgs” excelled at every endeavor. During the past year, the 721st moved a total of 92,000 short tons of cargo on 14,000 aircraft and 11,000 surface shipments. The 721 APS supported three Combatant Commands spanning more than 45,000,000 square miles and 124 countries. In addition to the amazing scope of its multi-continent mission, the 721 APS also managed the Air Force’s largest Aerial Port Expeditor program, which allowed the squadron to transload 1500 aircraft without loadmaster support. As citizen airmen, 721 APS personnel are actively engaged in their community. They ensured that 1221 fallen warriors were provided dignified and swift movement home to their loved ones. A role model for others, the squadron recently expedited 531 passengers and 25 missions of humanitarian aid to flood ravaged Pakistan, successfully building a humanitarian air bridge to more than 19 million victims. The 721st Aerial Port Squadron is recognized as the US Air Force’s Active Duty NDTA Military Unit of the Year.

USAF reserve component 56th Aerial Port Squadron 452d Air Mobility Wing March Air Reserve Base, California

The outstanding airmen of The 56th Aerial Port Squadron (APS) come from all different walks of life, each bringing

unique skill sets to the table. Their superior training and exceptional attitude make the 56 APS one of the premier logistics units in the Air Force Reserve. In the last year, the unit achieved an unprecedented 96.9 percent during its Logistics Compliance Assessment Program (LCAP) Inspection, an “Outstanding” rating overall in its first LCAP encounter. The unit went on to earn “Satisfactory” ratings on both its 2010 Nuclear Operation Readiness Inspection and its Unit Climate Inspection within a three month period. The 56 APS volunteered at home and abroad to work a myriad of missions: deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn; to the Kyrgyz Republic in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and to Haiti in relief support moving 7482 passengers and 3000 plus tons of cargo. The unit supported the Patriot Hook joint exercise mission by deploying to San Clemente Island to move the Los Angeles Fire Department, FBI, FEMA, and US Navy SEALS aboard 20 aircraft, carrying 227 passengers and 400 plus tons of cargo. Members coordinated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA on the Airlift Certification and movement of the Mars Rover project, and they continued to execute the deployment of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, processing more than 79,000 passengers and 3400 tons of cargo enabling smooth troop transition into and out of the area of responsibility. The unit worked vigilantly to improve training (reducing deficiencies by 90 percent) and maintain high morale and fitness (49.7 percent of the 56th are in the 90 percent “Fit to Fight” category). Squadron members also showed compassion through donations in support of families struggling during the holidays and by working with Operation Care for the benefit of those in need. The 56 APS truly deserves recognition as the US Air Force Reserve Component NDTA Military Unit of the Year for 2010.

Coast Guard US Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur US Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston Port Arthur, Texas

Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Port Arthur continues to operate on the forefront of

Military Outload (MOL) and Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) operations. The crew protects a strategic petrochemical port complex including two Strategic Ports of Embarkation (SPOE), two Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) facilities, and two of the nation’s five Strategic Petroleum Reserves. In 2010, MSU Port Arthur provided comprehensive protection and support for Port of Beaumont operations, one of the nation’s largest SPOEs that transported approximately 40 percent of all military equipment used overseas. The unit’s boat crews completed more than 10,300 underway hours, established 50 Naval Vessel Protection Zones, and conducted 80 vessel escorts transporting roughly 180,000 tons of military cargo. MSU Port Arthur conducted more than 9550 weapons issues, screened 2000 vessel Notices of Arrival, directed 1557 vessel security boardings, participated in 21 interagency law enforcement operations, and conducted 130 protective escorts for ships carrying Liquid Natural Gas and other HAZMAT Cargos. MSU Port Arthur partnered with a newly established Jefferson County Marine Division to maximize on-water security operations, receiving national recognition from the Commandant of the Coast Guard. In 2009, the Port of Port Arthur received its official designation as the second SPOE in MSU Port Arthur’s Area of Responsibility. Anticipating two-port military outload operations and surges in military deployments and redeployments for the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, MSU Port Arthur secured the necessary DOD funding and a 25 percent increase in personnel. In 2010, MSU Port Arthur mobilized and trained 35 additional Coast Guard Reservists. Administering a $5.3 million annual operating expenditure budget, MSU Port Arthur ensured that its fleet of IS Defender Class Response Boats, personnel, and facilities were outfitted with efficient and cost effective measures to meet mission compliance and maximize conservation. With perseverance, vision, and dedication, MSU Port Arthur has unquestionably achieved status as a model for National Defense and Industry stewardship and richly deserves the NDTA Military Unit of the Year Award. www.ndtahq.com | 55


SDDC Excellence in traffic management awards

ARMY

NAVY

SFC Chad Parkening

Robert Cordero-Morales

Installation Transportation Office, Directorate of Logistics, Fort Hood, TX

COAST GUARD

PO(YN3) Jillian Oliveira

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SMSGT Charles Nimmo

USMC Combat Service Support Schools, Camp LeJeune, NC

27th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron, Cannon AFB, NM

DLA

AAFES

DCMA

Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, PA

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GYSGT Dwight Hilton

AIR FORCE

Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Sigonella-Rota, Spain

Helene Tunney

Personnel Services and Support Command Ketchikan, Ketchikan, AK

Marine Corps

September 2011

Donna Jones

AAFES Dan Daniel Distribution Center, Newport News, VA

Audrey Kucway

DCMA Transportation North Central Team, Detroit, MI


Working Together

Our Legislators Get It Right Lee Jackson, Logistics Management Institute (LMI)

T

he Theme of the 65th Annual NDTA Forum & Expo in Phoenix September 10-14 suggests that we explore how the military, government, and industry are “Rising to the Challenge” of a changing world of politics, economics, communications, and logistics. Therefore, I thought I would focus on how our legislators are reaching out to the various stakeholders in the government and industry and working together to support our nation’s critical infrastructure.

A common theme that runs throughout each of the legislative proposals put forth seems to be corralling the widespread support from the business community and leveraging federal dollars to ensure that the reauthorization bill finally adopted is fiscally sound. It should be noted that in the view of this writer, it is important that any legislative proposal adopted should include provisions that support national defense interests and national defense programs and initiatives related to DOD highway, rail, and waterways for National Defense. I think after reading my snapshots of the various pieces of proposed legislation being put forth on Capitol Hill, you will arrive at the same conclusion I have. The Congress and our legislators are “rising to the challenge” of our changing world of politics, economics, communications, and logistics. Senator Barbara Boxer has proposed a two-year surface transportation reauthorization bill; however, $12 billion in supplemental revenue must be identified to support this proposal. To date, such revenue has not been identified, and in the current fiscal climate, finding such

revenue will most likely pose a significant challenge. Accordingly, details of this Senate proposal have not been included in this review. The proposals discussed herein are the focus of this article because they both demonstrate and contain provisions that fully support and rise to the challenge facing our nation’s infrastructure. A common theme that runs throughout each of the legislative proposals put forth seems to be corralling the widespread support from the business community and leveraging federal dollars to ensure that the reauthorization bill finally adopted is fiscally sound. In fact, to ensure that there is democratic and bipartisan support for the GOP bill, Congressman Mica, the Bill’s sponsor, has delayed scheduling a vote on the Bill until after the month-long summer recess of Congress in August. Keep in mind, there will surely be some debate over funding levels, but it is critical that broad bipartisan support and consensus be obtained from all stakeholders before any proposal can move forward. Numerous Proposals Are Being Put Forth: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)1

• Funding programs at current levels; • Eliminating earmarks; • Consolidating numerous programs to focus resources on key national goals and reduce duplicative and wasteful programs; • Consolidating numerous programs into a more focused freight program; and • Creating a new section called America Fast Forward, which strengthens the TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act) program to stretch federal dollars. House GOP $210 Billion Transportation Bill2 • Provides $230 billion over six years from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)—

• •

consistent with the amount of revenue deposited into the HTF for the next six years; Funds the TIFIA program at $1 billion per year and provides incentives for states to create and capitalize State Infrastructure Banks; Consolidates or eliminates nearly 70 duplicative programs or programs not in the federal interest; Streamlines the project delivery process by cutting bureaucratic red tape and making the project approval process faster and simpler; Distributes federal highway funding to state DOTs through formula programs to preserve existing highways, build new highway capacity, address congestion, freight mobility, and highway safety; and Encourages federal regulators to keep unsafe trucks and buses off the road and incentivizes the states to enact laws to prevent impaired driving and increase seatbelt use.

Although this article focuses on select legislative proposals, there are numerous proposals under consideration that support enacting a responsible, long-term solution focused on transportation reauthorization. The proposals discussed herein are solid pieces of legislation that do not raise taxes, support fiscal austerity, maximize and leverage limited resources, provide flexibility to the states, create jobs, and authorize funding levels supported by the Highway Trust Fund revenues. Bipartisan hearings and public forums were held around the country to gather ideas and input on the House bill and the six-year reauthorization proposal. DTJ Source: Jeff Berman, Group News Editor, Logistics Management . . . Supply Chain Management Review, 5/26/2011 2 Source: House of Representatives Brief; Transportation Reauthorization Proposal, 7/7/2011 1

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Chapter Spotlight Recognizing Hard Work Jeff Campbell Chapter Liaison While working with Mark Victorson, VP Membership, on Chapter issues over the past year, a big-thinking small chapter and a tight-knit group of individuals stood out. Their hard work will be recognized Wednesday, September 14, in the Valley of the Sun at the International Awards Luncheon, as EIGHT Scott-St. Louis Chapter Members receive the NDTA Distinguished Service Award, and the rapidly-revived Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter accepts the “Category I Trifecta:” International Chapter of the Year, A-35 Chapter of the Year, AND COL Norbert Grabowski Recruiting Awards! We’d like to share how Rheinland did it and give the Past Scott-St. Louis Chapter President an opportunity to personally thank a few MVPs from his team.

Rheinland-Pfalz Following the attacks on 9/11, chapter activity in many NDTA Chapters, including Rheinland-Pfalz, stopped as attention focused on increased operation tempo. USAF 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Commander Lt Col Jeffrey Babinski, an active A-35er in the Chapter at the time, remembers it vividly. “Some of the earliest operations involved extensive coordination between nearly every logistics unit in theater, and NDTA-forged connections helped bridge the gap between different organizations and processes to make everything work,” Babinski said. “Through it all, Mr. Kurt Lengert was steadfast in fostering and building the NDTA network, and once the dust settled, he corralled us all back together to keep the Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter moving forward.” A decade later, the heavy logistics activity of moving people and equipment around during two ongoing wars slowed chapter activities again. “Deployments and operations tempo had shaken the Chapter to its core, and stagnation is the word that best describes the foundation of the Chapter as elections approached in October 2010,” said MSgt Dan Shipley, USAF, who has guided the Chapter as its president. “At the beginning of October, the Chapter had a meager 35 members; to date, we have 191 members.” Shipley is quick to note the strength in Rheinland’s resurgence: A-35ers. “The best part about these numbers, more than half of our members fall within the A-35 criteria . . . truly grooming the next generation of logisticians,” Shipley said. 58 |

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Helping neighbors in need builds NDTA Chapter community spirit. Pictured are three of Chapter 82’s eight 2011 Distinguished Award winners. Rich Thompson, Jennifer Tubb, and Paul Kozak collected donations to help Joplin, MO, tornado relief. Photo courtesy Jennifer Tubb.

Scott-St. Louis

NDTA Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter Members unwind at the Ramstein Air Base Bowling Center during one of several 2011 A-35 Scholarship fund raisers. Photo by MSgt Dan Shipley, USAF.

The Board redesigned the Chapter to ensure that each executive position had a mentoree assigned to them. “Our hope was to pass on our knowledge to those who truly will follow in our footsteps; not just in our local Chapter, but within our logistics field,” Shipley said. “Additionally, the Chapter organized a Job Shadow Day to educate future logisticians and organized its first-ever financial class to better position its members for their personal and professional futures.” Rheinland-Pfalz also teamed with several organizations in the Kaiserslautern Military Community to raise more than $30,000 in just 36 hours to aid victims of the horrible tsunami that hit Fukushima, Japan. Last but definitely not least, NDTA Corporate Members were a caring key to the Chapter’s endeavors. “I do need to send a special thank you to the Chapter’s Corporate Sponsor of the Year, National Air Cargo,” Shipley said. “Thank you for your friendship, and overwhelming commitment to the advancement of the Rheinland-Pfalz Chapter.” DTJ

September 2011

Donna Biffar, Tara Feilmeier-Novak, Norm Galer, Donna Johnson, Paul Kozak, Jennifer Tubb, and TSgt Daniel Briscoe—Congratulations to each of you! As a result of your outstanding support and contributions to NDTA and specifically to our Scott-St. Louis Chapter, you have been selected for a 2011 NDTA Distinguished Service Award! I could not be prouder of you, and I can’t thank you enough for your outstanding support of our Chapter. Your achievements are well documented and your efforts contributed significantly to the success of our chapter. This award is but a small token of our appreciation for your initiative, selfless service, and outstanding accomplishments. Thank you all very much. I also want to thank whoever it was who submitted me for an award. I truly appreciate the award recognition, but my award really belongs to you, our Board of Directors, our Committee Leads, and a host of volunteers who make this Chapter great. I am truly privileged and honored to have worked with all of you. I want to add a special thanks to Kirk Foster for his assistance with the awards packages. Thanks Kirk.

Rich

Richard B. Thompson Past President, Scott-St. Louis Chapter


The 80/20 Rule COL Denny Edwards, USA (Ret.)

H

ave you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? Probably you have, but never knew the actual name. Most of us just call it the 80/20 rule. It came from a business consultant who named it after an Italian economist. Pareto used it to describe several aspects of business operations such as: • 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers • 80% of your complaints come from 20% of your customers • 80% of your sales are made by 20% of your salesman And you could fill the page with other similar examples. So too it has been applied to other areas such as organizational participation in church groups, clubs, and yes, associations. NDTA is no exception. Roughly 80% of the work of the association is done by 20% of our members. So if that principle holds true, you could postulate that the continued success of NDTA is tied to attracting and keeping that vital 20%. That group is the one where the long-term NDTA supporters come from: the individual members and companies that attend our forums the most, that sponsor and exhibit the most, that volunteer the most, that are loyal to the association through good times and bad. So how do we identify these long-ball hitters? That’s easy—you spot them everywhere by their presence at association activities, you see them volunteering, you note their names in photos in the DTJ and Datagram in articles recognizing NDTA’s best. The real question is how do we attract new “loyalists” to keep the ranks of that 20% full? Certainly our A-35 Committee does a good job planning activities for the younger 20%—that helps them stay involved. But where and how do we recruit the new ones? I submit that it is a varied combination of forces such as edu-

cation, career advancement, social interaction, worthwhile projects, networking opportunities, fun activities, togetherness, and mentoring. Of that list I believe mentoring is the most important. Most of NDTA’s 20% were recognized early in their careers and “taken under the wing” of a senior leader. They had a mentor, a sponsor, somebody that looked out for them and their career welfare. From the military perspective, I doubt that there is a senior officer or NCO today in NDTA that can’t point to somebody early-on who coached and helped them and who advocated for them. And I am sure that one piece of advice they all received was “join NDTA”—it’s a good organization and it will help your career or your business. As a personal example, I joined NDTA in 1966 because my boss, MG “Pete” Lang invited me to come with him to a Washington, DC, chapter meeting. Early on I became a Life Member, and I still value my membership in NDTA among the very most rewarding in my career. But notice that I said that he invited me to come with him—not that I should go to an NDTA meeting. Attending the meeting together made all the difference in the world. I believe most of our most loyal NDTA members have probably had the same experience. Why not ask them the next time you see them about how they got “hooked” on NDTA. Ask John Fasching in our Central Pennsylvania Chapter; ask Donna Johnson in the Scott-St. Louis Chapter; or Johnsie Cogman in Washington, DC; or Joe Torsani. In fact, ask any of the 20% folks below how they got started with NDTA: Joe Escalera, Jason Trubenbach, Heather Pound, Lori Leffler, MG John Griffin, Steve Cubarny, Mary Ann Wagner, Eric Ebeling, Siegy Kugies, Lee Karras, Fred Cowan, Curt Lengert, “Ace” Parker, Rufus Reed, Wm. Van der Stek, Terri Dalton, Walt Dzialo, Frank McDermott, Chuck

Bolduc, Carolyn Salmans, Joe Mattingly, Alan Estevez, Mickey Frank, Lynn Nelson, “Shorty” Salmans, Mike McVeigh, Steve Rohrbough, Earl Boyanton, Leland Karras, MG Don Brown, Denny Clifford, John Joerger, Kirstin Knott, Rick Barnaby, Jack Moir, Pete Seidlitz, Chuck Edmiston, Dale Cozart, Mike Babiak, Ron Conardy, Tim Shaw, Ed Fortunato, John Race, Carl Wlotzko, Bob Reilly, Craig Thurgood, Sallie Owenby, Rod Mallette, Jeff Babinski, Roger Maguire, Cindy Thurgood, Merrill Taylor, Nancy Houghton, and Betty Yanowsky. Note: Many other deserving members could be added to this list if space were available.

So, if you really want to see our “20%” list grow, identify a good potential member and take them to an NDTA event; personally help them get started with NDTA. You will be helping your association, and at the same time you will be helping a young person start a successful career. DTJ Editors Note: For a more in-depth story about one of NDTA’s 20%, see the Book Review section of this issue.

DTJ Index of Advertisers American Military University.......................... 61 APL........................................................................ 9 ARC...................................................................... 32 Bennett International Group........................... 56 Boyle Transportation.......................................... 6 BNSF Logistics.................................................. 33 BNSF Railway.................................................... 11 Budget................................................................ 36 Cubic................................................................... 23 DHL Global Forwarding.................................... 21 Farrell Lines....................................................... 15 FedEx...................................................................C4 InterContinental Hotels Group........................ 40 Landstar..............................................................C3 LMI...................................................................... 39 Maersk Line, Limited.......................................... 1 Mayflower.......................................................... 37 McCollister’s Transportation........................... 35 Panther Expedited Services............................ 17 Pasha.................................................................. 19 Pilot Freight Services....................................... 13 Port of San Diego.............................................. 25 SAIC....................................................................C2 Transportation Institute.................................... 47 United.................................................................. 27 UPS........................................................................ 2 Universal Truckload Services......................... 31

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professional development Training and Educating a Skilled Manufacturing Workforce Irvin Varkonyi, CSCP, PLog, President, Supply Chain Operations Preparedness Education ivarkonyi@scopedu.com Learning objectives 1. “Skills for America’s Future” brings collaboration between industry and government focused on growing manufacturing by enhancing workforce skills in the US. 2. Workforce training and education is a key metric to assess states and counties’ success at job development. 3. Corporate training resources increasingly focus on cost efficient technology allowing savings in training expenditures while providing more training.

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ur nation’s economy depends on natural resources, technological innovation, and a skilled workforce. The mix of these components is constantly changing. The skills needed by our workforce must adapt to this changing mix, as well to global forces that alter the demand for and the supply of skills in the modern economy. How well are we doing? Examining initiatives by government and the private sector indicate that we have mixed results. Yet we are uncertain that our future economic welfare will depend on the optimization of human capital’s productivity. While agonizingly high employment commands much attention today, the shortage of a skilled manufacturing workforce is not as clearly understood, yet it has contributed in part to the steady decline of this sector. From a high of 39 percent of all jobs during WWII, manufacturing employment fell below 10 percent of the workforce shortly before the Presidential election of 2008.1 Total manufacturing employment reached a high of nearly 20 million jobs in 1980, but it has continuously fallen. Less than 12 million manufacturing jobs were recorded in 2009, the lowest total since the end of WWII. Skills for America’s Future A current Federal Government/Industry initiative, titled “Skills for America’s Future,” seeks to remedy the loss of manu60 |

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facturing jobs by rebuilding a skilled workforce. It is focusing on utilization of the nation’s community colleges to provide and facilitate training and education. “. . . It is an industry-led initiative to dramatically improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nation-wide network to maximize workforce development strategies, job training programs, and job placements.”2 A key component of the initiative is to highlight the need for a standardized credentialing system that manufacturing firms will recognize as useful in preparation for unfilled jobs, stated President Obama when he spoke on the campus of Northern Virginia Community College earlier this year. The “Skills” initiative is being coordinated by the Manufacturing Institute, an arm of the National Association of Manufacturers, in collaboration with a variety of institutions to develop a credentialing system. A variety of associations have developed credentialing systems that target their members, some in narrow fields and some with broad industry applications. The key partnerships engaged by “Skills” include Motorola, Pritzker Realty, Discovery Communications, and the American Association of Community Colleges. More information is available at www.skillsforamericasfuture.org. A recently released report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology provided specific recommendations in areas of greatest weaknesses in advanced manufacturing.3 “We strongly believe that the nation requires a coherent innovation policy to ensure US leadership support of new technologies and approaches and to provide the basis for high-quality jobs for Americans in the manufacturing sector.” The report advocated creating a fertile environment for innovation through tax and business policy, robust support for basic research, and training and education of a high skilled workforce. Part of the solution to enlarge a skilled workforce was to expand the

September 2011

supply of highly skilled foreign workers because of insufficient American skilled workers. Thus, as stated earlier in this article there is demand for skilled workers in the US but an insufficient supply.4 Skills for America’s Future is also working at the high school level to reach our future workforce. The industry partnership is reaching out to 3500 high schools and 200 colleges to implement the manufacturing credentialing system. A new website, Pipeline, at www.futuresinc.com will offer online resources with real time data and job openings and information on the additional education required for these jobs. More than $2 billion is being committed to help community colleges train students and workers under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. It focuses on the capacity of community colleges to develop, upgrade, and offer programs that result in skills, degrees, and industry-recognized credentials that are relevant to high-skill industries such as manufacturing, says the White House.5 Workforce training in the states The US Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation have produced an assessment ranking states in their ability to generate jobs, in a variety of industries. A key to job creation has been workforce training and education. The chamber offered rankings of the states based on affordability of education, job placement support, high school graduation rates, and employer driven training programs. The top ten states were:6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 q

Florida Massachusetts New York Maryland North Dakota Minnesota Colorado New Hampshire Utah Connecticut


Among the shared characteristics of these and other successful states is their focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) jobs. Many of our smaller states have focused on growth in STEM jobs because of the multiplier economic effect of these jobs. Growth of STEM jobs in North Dakota was 26 percent in the past decade, but the nation as a whole increased STEM jobs by only 2.6 percent during the same period. This discussion in creating a skilled workforce must therefore reach across many fields from complex engineering to complex manufacturing. Corporate resource constraints Finally, how constrained are corporate training budgets? Chief Learning Officer (CLO) magazine surveys its members on how responsibility is accepted by companies to provide professional development and training. Costs are compared between internal training programs or the use of external institutions. CLO also surveys their readers’ opinions on professional development from a non-expenditure

perspective such as substituting e-training for in class programs. E-training can produce extraordinary savings because of the rapid evolution of technology tools, such as online training. Thus dollars spent by companies are not necessarily a key indicator of their commitment to professional development. Spending a lot is good, not spending as much as in the past is not good and is not a reliable metric. Rather, evaluating a company’s training program’s range of opportunities offered employees to enhance their skill sets is more useful. Spending dollars wisely is a better metric. Will Skills for America’s Future, along with its partners, spend dollars wisely? That will depend. We have the capacity to train our workforce through traditional and non-traditional means. Commitments to support workforce training must be made by a variety of stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Our workforce must also become committed to gaining and maintain skills in a global economy and the knowledge to participate in a resurgent manufacturing environment. DTJ

continued from page 4

The A-35 Vision is to be an active component of NDTA providing opportunities and developing tomorrow’s leaders. The benefits to you are: • Networking with industry leaders • Scholarship opportunities • Mentor programs • Educational programs • Professional development • Job referral assistance • Leadership opportunities • Community involvement The greatest benefit from NDTA’s A-35 committee is the return from active participation. As one A-35er put it, “Get involved! Like so many things, NDTA fits into the ‘reap what you sow’ rule of life. There may be organizations more specific to your career field or job description, but because NDTA covers such a broad range of logistics specialties, your opportunities are greater and your horizons are much broader. You’ll understand the big picture of how you contribute to National Defense.” DTJ

“LOGISTICS DEMANDS PRECISION— where technology and information converge to drive the global economy.”

Jennifer Batchelor | Faculty, School of Management With more than 18 years of transportation and logistics management experience, Batchelor represents the caliber of AMU faculty and its commitment to blending academic quality with real-world application. Batchelor serves as vice president of an award-winning firm and is passionate about teaching students the cutting-edge technology and methods that are driving industry today.

Learn More at www.amuonline.com/dtj or Visit us at the 2011 NDTA forum & expo show What’s this? AMU-QR.com

Art & Humanities | Business | Education | Management | Public Safety & Health | Science & Technology | Security & Global Studies

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HONOR ROLL

OF

SUSTAINING MEMBERS AND REGIONAL PATRONS

ALL OF THESE FIRMS SUPPORT THE PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF NDTA

SUSTAINING MEMBERS ABF Freight System, Inc. Accor Hotels ACTCO-Afghanistan Logistics Air Transport Assn. of America Air Transport International, LLC AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc. American Maritime Officers American Military University American United Logistics AMYX ARINC Army Air Force Exchange Service Arven Freight Services, LLC Associated Global Systems Baggett Transportation Co. Boyle Transportation Cardinal Transport, Inc. Carlson Hotels Worldwide CGI Chalich Trucking, Inc. Chamber of Shipping of America Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation Covenant Transport Coyne Airways Coyote Logistics, LLC/General Freight Services CRST International, Inc. CSC Crowley Maritime Corp. CWT SatoTravel C2 Freight Resources, Inc. DAMCO

REGIONAL PATRONS AAAA Forwarding, Inc. Access America Transport, Inc. AFC Worldwide Express/R+L Global Services Aggreko International AKA a division of Korman Communities Al-Morrell Development/Morrell Int’l. Alaska West Express American Moving & Storage Assn. American Trucking Associations Anton Law Group Association of American Railroads ATS Specialized, Inc. Avis Budget Group Benchmarking Partners C5T Corporation Cargotec USA, Inc. The Cartwright Companies Cavalier Logistics Center for the Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technologies (CCDoTT) Ceres Terminals, Inc. CGM Security Solutions, Inc. Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Chassis King C.L. Services, Inc. Corporate Flight Management

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Dell, Inc. Delta Air Lines, Inc. DHL Express Dynamics Research Corp. Enterprise Database Corporation Express-1 Fikes Truck Line GE Aviation General Dynamics/American Overseas Marine General Dynamics NASSCO GeoDecisions GID – Get It Done, LLC Global Maritime & Trans. School-USMMA Greatwide Truckload Management Hilton Worldwide HLC Government Services Hub Group, Inc. Intercomp Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) Intermarine, LLC International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO Intl. Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots Interstate Worldwide Relocation Kansas City Southern Keystone Shipping Company Knight Transportation KU Transportation Research Institute Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. Labelmaster Software Liberty Global Logistics, LLC

Liberty Maritime Corporation LMI Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. M2 Transport Mack Trucks, Inc. ManTech International Corp. Marine Engineer’s Benefits Association Martin Logistics, Inc. Matson Navigation Co., Inc. Mayflower Transit McCollister’s Transportation Systems, Inc. McLeod Software Menlo Worldwide Mercer Transportation Co. Military Officers Association of America National Air Carrier Assn., Inc. National Van Lines New England Motor Freight, a Shevell Group Co. North Carolina State Ports Authority NYK Logistics Americas Ocean Shipholdings, Inc. Ocean Star International, Inc. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Omega World Travel One Network Enterprises, Inc. OSG Ship Management, Inc. Overdrive Logistics, Inc. Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Panalpina Parts Associates, Inc. (PAI) Pilot Freight Services PODS

Port of Beaumont Pratt & Whitney Prestera Trucking, Inc. Priority Solutions International Priority Worldwide Services PRTM Management Consultants, LLC Qualcomm Incorporated Radiant Logistics Partners, LLC Ridgeway International Rock-It-Cargo USA, LLC Sammons Trucking Savi, a Lockheed Martin Company Sea Star Line, LLC Seafarers Int’l Union of N.A. AGLIWD Sealed Air Corp. Sealift, Inc. Southwest Airlines SRA International, Inc. Tamerlane Global Services Textainer Equipment Management Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE) TQL Transportation Institute Transportation Intermediaries Assn. (TIA) Tri-State Motor Transit, Co., (TSMT) Tucker Company Worldwide, Inc. Union Pacific Railroad United Airlines United Van Lines, Inc. UPS Freight UTi Worldwide, Inc. UTXL Wagler Integrated Logistics, LLC Worldwide Aeros Corp

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group EADS North America Enterprise Holdings Erudite Company Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Europcar Car & Truck Rental Executive Apartments, Inc. Federal IT Consulting (FEDITC), LLC FlightWorks FMN Logistics Fox Rent A Car Goverline Logistics Great American Lines, Inc. Green Valley Transportation Corp. Hanjin Intermodal America, Inc. Hawaii Air Cargo, Inc. Holiday Inn VA Beach – Norfolk Hotel & Conference Center HudsonMann, Inc. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Innovative Green Solutions JAS Forwarding Kalitta Charters, LLC LMJ International Logistics, LLC Logistics Management Resources, Inc. LTD Hospitality Group Lynden, Inc. Magellan Transport Logistics

Marriott Hawaii Resorts & Hotels Marriott International MBA | Morten Beyer & Agnew McLane Advanced Technologies MCR Federal, LLC (MCR) Meyer Trucking, Inc. Mi-Jack Products & Technology Military Sealift Command (MSC) Miramar Transportation mLINQS, LLC MRA Experiential Tours & Equipment Naniq Systems, LLC NCI Information Systems, Inc. NFI Oakwood Corporate Worldwide ORBIS Corp. OTO Hospitality Development Overwatch, Inc. Passport International, Ltd. Patriot Contract Services, LLC Payless Car Rental Philadelphia Regional Port Authority Phoenix International Freight Services, Ltd. Pitt Ohio Port of Port Arthur Port of San Diego Portus Reckart Logistics, Inc.

Royal Trucking Company Scan Logistix, Inc. Seabridge, Inc. Sea Box, Inc. SkyLink—(USA) Sleep Inn and Suites SLT Express Way, Inc. SR International Logistics, Inc. Stratos Jet Charters, Inc. Suite Solutions TAPESTRY - FSG Tennessee Steel Haulers Turnkey Transportation Services Trailer Bridge, Inc. Trailer Transit, Inc. Trans Global Logistics Europe GmbH TRI-STATE Expedited Service, Inc. Triton Systems, Inc. Truva International Transportation & Logistics Try Tours Expediting Services Unified Consultants Group, Inc. Unimasters Logistics PLC US Bank Freight Payment US Door & Building Components Utley, Inc. The Virginian Suites

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September 2011


AAR CORP + PLUS Agility Defense & Government Services + PLUS American Shipping & Logistics Group (ASL) + PLUS APL Limited + PLUS Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings + PLUS The Boeing Company + PLUS Bennett Motor Express, LLC + PLUS Choice Hotels International + PLUS CEVA Logistics + PLUS Cubic Global Tracking Solutions, Inc. + PLUS FedEx + PLUS Final Mile Logistics + PLUS Global Aviation Holdings Inc. + PLUS Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC + PLUS Horizon Lines, Inc. + PLUS IBM + PLUS InterContinental Hotels Group + PLUS Landstar System, Inc. + PLUS Maersk Line, Limited + PLUS National Air Cargo + PLUS Panther Expedited Services, Inc. + PLUS Ports America + PLUS Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) + PLUS Supreme Group USA, LLC + PLUS Titan Services + PLUS Universal Truckload Services, Inc. + PLUS UPS + PLUS YRC Worldwide + PLUS Accenture American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier, LLC BNSF Railway Co. Booz Allen Hamilton Bristol Associates CorTrans Logistics, LLC CSX Transportation

DB Schenker DHL Global Forwarding Evergreen International Airlines, Inc. The Hertz Corporation Innovative Logistics, LLC International Shipholding Corp. KGL Holding Lockheed Martin

Norfolk Southern Corporation Northrop Grumman Corporation Omni Air International The Pasha Group R&R Trucking Raith-CTS Logistics SkyBitz

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.

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Denny Edwards

Siegfried Kugies: The East Prussian Railroader and the Americans (Der Ostpreussische Eisenbahner Und Die Amerikaner)

Siegfried Kugies: The East Prussian Railroader and the Americans, autobiography by Siegfried Kugies, published by MB Manufacture of Biographies and Chronicles, 2010, $20 list, hardcover, 455 pages.

A

merican, British, or Canadian military personnel stationed in Germany from the 1970s through 2005 undoubtedly know about Siegfried (“Siegy”)

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Kugies. A former German soldier and prisoner of war, Siegy holds a remarkable record of service to all English speaking personnel in the former British and American sectors of divided West Germany. His near 80 years of service are recorded in an autobiography, which makes interesting reading. His autobiography details his capture on the front lines during the Ardennes Offensive and his experiences as prisoner of war # 31G 1109 250 interred at POW Camps in Belgium, France, and the US (Camp Crowder, MO, and Camp Carson, CO) before returning to Europe as a day laborer in France and Belgium. He finally landed in Trebur near the USAF Rhein Main Air Base, Frankfurt. His English language skills brought invaluable opportunities on base and with the German Railroad (DB), where he began working in the Public Relations Department after proving his skills at building relations between Germans and Americans. He became famous as “Mr. Rail,” organizing tours to his village of Trebur for Americans during off-duty hours and concerts by the US Army and USAF bands. But his story does not stop here. Siegy, who is actually one of NDTA’s few German Life Members, shares memories of his days with the Association. As the lon-

gest serving VP of the Frankfurt Chapter, he was invaluable in organizing several European Conferences and received many awards for his efforts. Siegy’s warm affection for NDTA led him to add an entire 106page chapter to the book (translated into English for his many military friends). In it, he discusses NDTA activities and other US Forces sponsored events during his 40 years with the German Railroad. More than 100 US military officers and NDTA members are referenced in the book. Extensive text deals with the USAF at Rhein-Main Air Base, US Army Headquarters Europe in Heidelberg, 3d Support Command in Wiesbaden, and 4th Transportation Command in Oberursel. Siegy even recounts his many reunions with his military friends in the US when he was able to visit them while attending NDTA Forums in Tampa, Honolulu, El Paso, and Norfolk. This book is an excellent recounting of one man’s personal efforts to bring cooperation and understanding between two countries that were mortal enemies in his youth. For NDTA members especially, it will spark fond memories of tours in Germany. The book will be for sale at the US Transportation Museum in Ft. Eustis and for a limited time at the NDTA Forum in Phoenix. DTJ

US Army Transportation Corps (USATC) veterans are invited to join The Berliner, recreating the reciprocal hospitality that existed between the two Corps.

On 12 May 2012, veterans of 62 Transport & Movements Squadron and the Berlin Infantry Brigade will make the trip from Berlin, again, in a one-day-only recreation of the British Train. It will be steam-hauled and will call at Marienborn to explore the ruins of the Soviet facilities and Helmstedt for a civic ceremony and visit to the Border Museum there.

September 2011

Siegy (with mic) teaching Bavarian dancing to NDTA attendees at Munich Conference


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