FEATURES

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

Lee Matthews Marketing | Corporate Development Manager

Leah Ashe Manager, Database

Sharon Lo Manager, Meetings and Publications

Jeff Campbell Manager, Chapter and Membership Support

Rebecca Jones Administrative Assistant to the President

Carl Wlotzko Coordinator, Banquet & Special Events

For a listing of current Committee Chair-persons, Government Liaisons, and Chapter & Regional Presidents, please visit our Association website at www.ndtahq.com.

Ed it orial Object ives 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

Ed it orial 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.

Ed it orial Content For a 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

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

The NDTA/MSC Internship Program Provides Short and Long-term Opportunities to Students By Sharon Lo, Managing Editor, DTJ Manager, Meetings & Publications, NDTA

In October I attended an Industry Day hosted by the Supply Chain Management Society at the University of Maryland. I was very impressed by the students that I met there. They were bright, energetic about what they were learning, and many were pursuing challenging dual degrees. My main purpose in going was to make sure that the students were aware of what benefits NDTA provides them. Most students, and NDTA members in general, know that the organization provides scholarships, both on the national and chapter levels, in addition to educational and networking opportunities. However, not everyone is aware of what I would call one of the most valuable programs NDTA offers—the NDTA/MSC Summer Intern Program.

This year marks the third year for the NDTA/MSC Summer Intern Program. The mission of this program is to provide internships for qualified students and ultimately to provide the Military Sealift Command (MSC) with a pool of potential candidates for selecting full time government employees. As with most government departments, the current workforce is ageing and many are reaching retirement eligibility. MSC is seeking programs to develop qualified replacements for future retirees.

MSC supports our Nation by delivering supplies and conducting specialized missions across the world’s oceans. It seeks to be the leader in innovative and cost-effective maritime solutions. As an educational organization that consistently promotes the development of the future leaders of the transportation and logistics industries, NDTA was the perfect partner to bring this program to fruition.

The summer internship program is for rising college juniors and seniors. Individuals who have received an NDTA scholarship, or other highly qualified students, will receive priority placement for a paid summer internship with MSC. The location for the internship may be at the Norfolk, Virginia; San Diego, California; or Washington, DC MSC office. The intern candidate may state a location preference. To be eligible for the internship, an applicant must be a previous NDTA scholarship recipient or other highly qualified student, who is a member of NDTA or dependent of an NDTA member. In addition, the applicant must have successfully completed his or her sophomore or junior year in college, still be in a student status, and must be a citizen of the United States of America.

Interested students can find more information, including the application form, on the NDTA website (select “Programs” under the Education tab). Each year, completed applications must be mailed back to NDTA Headquarters, postmarked no later than January 15th. Once applications are received, the NDTA Scholarship Subcommittee of the Forum, Education and Professional Development Committee will prepare a list of recommended candidates and provide the names to MSC for final selection. MSC will then notify the winning candidates no later than March 30th.

I sincerely hope that NDTA’s student members will take into consideration applying to this worthwhile program. While there has been a slight drop in the unemployment rate from the beginning of the year, those under the age of 25 still face the highest unemployment rate out of all age groups. I say this not to be pessimistic, rather, I want to encourage all of our student members to consider the long-term value of the choices you are making. A successful internship now can make a real difference when you graduate, and believe me that year or two will go by quickly! DTJ

NDTA Annual Forum 2012

Dr. Kent N. Gourdin, Editor, DTJ Director, Global Logistics and Transportation Program College of Charleston

For those of you unable to make the Forum this year, you missed a good one. The location was certainly unique, and the sessions were outstanding across the board. While there, several things really struck me about transportation in Alaska. One was the extent to which defense transportation needs have shaped the state’s logistics infrastructure. Another was the way personal and commercial movement has evolved to meet the needs of those living and working in such an unusual environment.

Most are familiar with the heroic efforts undertaken to build the Alaska-Canada Highway at the beginning of World War II. In eight months between 1942 and 1943, 10,607 soldiers (over a third of whom were African-American) built a road 1,522-miles long from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska. Now known as the Alaska Highway, the road continues to provide the primary overland route connecting the 49th state with the “lower 48.” In fact, the route is a vital economic military lifeline even today because the only other surface access is via barge from Seattle. Right around the same time, in 1941, the US Army began construction of the railroad spur from Whittier to Portage. This line became Alaska’s main supply link for the war effort. The advantages of using Whittier as a rail port was that it was a shorter voyage, it reduced exposure of ships to Japanese submarines, reduced the risk of Japanese bombing port facilities because of the bad weather, and it avoided the steep railroad grades required to traverse the Kenai Mountains. On April 23, 1943, workers completed the spur, which consisted of a 1-mile tunnel through Begich Peak and a 2.5-mile tunnel through Maynard Mountain now known as the Whittier Tunnel, thus linking Whittier to the Alaska Railroad’s main line at Portage. Vehicles were transported through the tunnel via flatcar, but demand became so high that the railroad could no longer support it. As a result, work began in 1998 to change the tunnel into the controlled one-lane facility with alternating train and vehicle use that exists today.

Freight transportation occurs through some of the harshest weather in the world. Carlile Transportation had a tractor in the Exhibit Hall, along with several of the drivers and managers featured frequently on the History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers series. They were all very friendly and more than willing, eager even, to talk about long-haul trucking in Alaska. In so many words, they said they didn’t think their jobs were anything out of the ordinary. Anyone who has watched the show would probably beg to differ, the theatrics notwithstanding. As a diehard fan of the show, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with these folks. I must admit that I found it hard not to gush. Freight is not the only

thing that moves up the ice road. One driver shuttling Forum attendees between the hotels and convention center said that their company spends the summers handling tourists, and the winters moving workers to and from the North Slope.

Given the vastness of Alaska and the general lack of roads, many people rely on private aircraft rather than motor vehicles to meet their mobility needs. In fact, many of those aircraft are floatplanes. The state-owned, public Lake Hood Seaplane Base is the largest such facility in the world and is located next to, and under the air traffic control of, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. There are over 800 aircraft domiciled here, and the base handles approximately 190 movements a day. I think I can honestly say that I have never seen so many floatplanes in one place.

I hope I have whet your appetite for next year’s Forum in San Antonio. I know I haven’t mentioned anything about the professional sessions, but they are covered elsewhere in this issue. Suffice to say that, for me, a successful Forum combines both professional and personal opportunities for growth. Anchorage provided both in spades. I’m sure San Antonio will do the same, so plan to be there. I know I will be. DTJ

The Work Continues

LTG Ken Wykle, USA (Ret.) NDTA President

The Anchorage Forum is complete and San Antonio is on the horizon. Before we begin to focus on 2013 events, I want to thank everyone who attended the Forum. I understand the challenges many of you face during these difficult economic conditions, the time needed to travel to Anchorage, the time “out of the office”, and appreciate your outstanding support of NDTA. We consistently strive to offer a rewarding program and contribute to each attendee’s education, training, and professional development. Some have commented that all of the featured speakers were government or military. This was by design, due to the recent OMB guidance indicating military/government attendees should have an official role at conferences. In an effort to maintain balance many of the session leaders and panel members were from industry. This Forum wrap up edition of the DTJ, includes a summary of the speakers’ remarks and the sessions’ content. Each speech was also videotaped and may be viewed by logging in to the member’s section of the NDTA website. Please provide me (ken@ndtahq.com) your feedback on the value of the Forum and the videos.

We also want to congratulate our awardees: Mrs. Marcia Taylor, President and CEO of Bennett International Group and winner of NDTA’s National Transportation Award; General Ann E. Dunwoody, USA (Ret.), former Commander of the Army Materiel Command who won the National Defense Leadership Award; Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek, USN, Director, DLA and winner of the NDTA DOD Distinguished Service Award; General Raymond Johns, Jr., USAF, Commander, Air Mobility Command, who was inducted into the Ancient Order of Saint Christopher; Colonel Denny Edwards, USA (Ret.), winner of the NDTA President’s Award, and Mrs. Karen Edwards who was recognized with the Patron of the Wheel Award for her 20+ years of volunteer service to NDTA. Thank you for your contributions in support of our economy and National Security. We also congratulate the men and women of USCENTCOM’s Strategic Movements Center who received the Innovative Logistics Service Award, as well as our Military Unit Award recipients, corporate, chapter and individual awardees.

NDTA sent a short survey to all attendees soon after the Forum. To those who responded, thank you. To all members I ask for your continued feedback via email on the Association and the Anchorage Forum. Is the professional program structured about right—the speakers and roundtables in the morning, Expo at noon, and the training and educational breakout session in the afternoon? Provide suggestions for improvements. Are the Expo periods the appropriate length and properly placed in the daily program? Please comment on the training, education, professional development, and networking opportunities or any other aspect of the Forum. To provide the best value for you we need your feedback—positive and critical. Responses from only a few attendees are insufficient to make changes in the professional program. Email your comments and suggestions directly to me at ken@ndtahq.com.

Results of the survey show the primary reason for attending the Forum is networking and the professional program; the most beneficial networking opportunities were the Expo Hall, the Sunday opening reception, and the reception prior to the Chairman’s Awards Dinner; NDTA’s pre-Forum information sharing processes, (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best), ranged from 3.83 for Global Match (new this year) to 4.5 for individual online registration; the top rated speakers were The Honorable Alan Estevez, General Fraser, General Johns, and VADM Harnitchek; the most valuable breakout sessions were “The Service Contract Act—implications for government contractors”, “Future Acquisition”, and “How to do business with the government”. Many individual survey responses included positive comments about all aspects of the event. We also received comments about time/distance to Anchorage and the resulting expense; the desire for more sessions to solve specific issues; the duck drop taking too long; and the desire for more mid-grade military/ government attendees from installations with whom industry interacts daily. The complete survey results will be posted on our website. Thank you again to those

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WEL C ME NE W corporate members as of December 1, 2012

Chairman’s c irc le • A Team Logistics LLC

Sustaining patrons • Krown1 Fzc • MV Transportation, Inc.

Regional patrons • Cargo Experts Corp.

Chairman’s c irc le Plus+ • Rock-It Cargo USA, LL C corporate member upgrades