Defense Transportation Journal

The Official Publication of the National Defense Transportation Association

February 2016

www.ndtahq.com

Charting the Course NDTA GovTravels Symposium The Integrated Lodging Program Pilot USTRANSCOM’s ERC & the Role of the Private Sector Representative Borrowing from the Enemy

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2 | Defense Transportation Journal | FEBRUARY 2016 2 | Defense Transportation Journal | DECEMBER 2015

February 2016

FEATURES NDTA GOVTRAVELS SYMPOSIUM PREVIEW 6 February 2016 • Vol 72, No. 1 PUBLISHER

RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret.) MANAGING EDITOR

Sharon Lo | sharon@ndtahq.com CIRCULATION MANAGER

THE INTEGRATED LODGING 8 PROGRAM PILOT Establishing an Enterprise-Wide Managed Lodging Program

By Betsey Grundy

Leah Ashe | leah@ndtahq.com PUBLISHING OFFICE

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

USTRANSCOM’S ENTERPRISE READINESS CENTER AND THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVE

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By Linda Szabo GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER

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

BORROWING FROM THE ENEMY

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By Alexander F. Barnes

DEPARTMENTS CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT | COL Jim Veditz, USA (Ret.).................................................... 4 PRESIDENT’S CORNER | RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret.).......................................... 5 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | Irvin Varkonyi......................................................23

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) $40. Two years, $60. Three years, $75. To foreign post offices, $45. Single copies, $6 plus postage. The DTJ is free to members. For details on membership, visit www.ndtahq.com.

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE.......................................................................................26 HONOR ROLL..................................................................................................27 BOOKSHELF IDEAS | Sharon Lo........................................................................... 28 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS.................................................................................... 28

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Defense Transportation Journal 50 South Pickett Street, Suite 220 Alexandria, VA 22304-7296

www.ndtahq.com | 3

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT

NDTA Headquarters Staff RADM Mark Buzby, USN (Ret.) President

Chapters – Center to the NDTA Formation

COL Jim Veditz, USA (Ret.) Senior Vice President, Operations

By COL Jim Veditz, USA (Ret.), Senior Vice President of Operations, NDTA

Patty Casidy VP Finance

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Lee Matthews VP Marketing and Corporate Development Leah Ashe Manager, Database James Marconi Director of Public Relations Rebecca Jones Executive Assistant to the President

For a listing of current Committee Chairpersons, Government Liaisons, and Chapter & Regional Presidents, please visit the 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

he National Defense Transportation Association has proudly served the nation for more than 70 years. In that time our mission, size and focus have morphed to accommodate the changing needs of the government and the industry. But one important component has remained constant: the role that chapters play to our membership. Chapters represent the local lifeblood of our association.

They constitute touchpoints for regular business and social opportunities, professional programs, mentoring and community outreach, and important programs such as scholarships and military support.

We currently have approximately 24 active chapters of various sizes around the world.

From the national headquarters perspective, we strive to meet the needs of our chapters and the communities they serve.

To that end, we are currently engaged in a significant investment program to meet membership needs. In the past few months, we unveiled our new “university day” at the Fall Meeting to meet the growing education demand signal. This is the first of an enhanced program aimed at bolstering our education offering. We re-

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 Media Kit and Archives, visit www.ndtahq.com/education_dtj.htm

Defense Transportation Journal

on

BOB.tv Explore content from industry and academic experts with NDTA and BOB.tv.

Visit the NDTA Channel at: http://supplychain.bob.tv/ channels/NDTA/

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

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NDTA

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FEBRUARY 2016

cently subscribed to the Best of Business TV (Bob.tv). This new program is now available to all NDTA members and offers the latest in supply chain and logistics knowledge from experts across industry.

Over the next several weeks, we will unveil a totally revitalized web site, which will feature a new design, more content and easy-to-use, mobile friendly navigation.

We also recently revamped our focus on the passenger travel industry, and this March are conducting the first ever GovTravels symposium. This important event will feature discussion from leaders in the US government and the passenger travel and personal services industry. Over the past year we stood up a new functional committee, the Cybersecurity and Best Practices Committee, which serves to address the growing importance of the online arena. And we renewed emphasis on our student membership, tweaking our awards and scholarship programs to better reflect the changing dynamics of 2016. Whew, and these are just a few of the changes currently underway!

Which leads to my final and most important point. We are first and foremost a service organization that exists to support the needs of our membership. That can be a difficult task from our headquarters in Virginia. It is important that we understand the changing needs at the chapter level and design programs that best support those needs. For that we need your input. I would ask each of you to consider writing an email, calling us on the phone, sending a smoke signal or communicating any way you desire. But tell us your thoughts, and share your professional expertise. What can we do better or differently at the national level to meet your needs locally? Your ideas are important to us and we will listen.

I’d like to close by thanking you for your active participation in NDTA. We feel that the real work at NDTA gets done at the chapter level. And it is our strongest desire to provide the very best support possible.

Keep up the great work! DTJ

PRESIDENT’S CORNER NDTA Develops GovTravels Symposium for Government and Private Industry in Travel and Passenger Services RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret.) NDTA President

N

DTA has its roots in the massive logistics enterprise created during World War II, which enabled the United States to effectively move troops and equipment where they were most needed. At the war’s close, professionals in government and the private sector recognized that continued collaboration served the nation’s interests by sharing best practices and innovations.

The United States maintains robust capabilities in logistics and passenger travel and services, in part a result of that ongoing collaboration. During normal times, business relationships benefit both the private sector and government. And when crisis strikes, shared know-how and methods of working together—what the military might call interoperability—enable quick responses in the pursuit of national goals.

Our nation is stronger when both sides of the equation understand each other’s programs, operations and needs. More

GovTravels represents a new and unique venue for government and private sector partners in travel and passenger services, with aims to be the premier venue where travel professionals can better understand and learn from each other. specifically, the logistics of people—how they move and where they stay—remains an important part of NDTA’s focus on government travel. To that end we are hosting GovTravels, a symposium on government travel & passenger services, from 29-31 March 2016 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, Va. GovTravels represents a new and unique venue for government and private sector partners in travel and passenger services, with aims to be the premier venue where

REGISTER NOW! March 29-31, 2016 | Alexandria, VA travel professionals can better understand and learn from each other. We designed the agenda with input from the private sector and government travel stakeholders, including GSA and DTMO, to ensure GovTravels engages all levels of experience— entry level to executive—in meaningful dialogue on travel and passenger services.

Over the course of two-and-a-half days, we will offer members of the government and private sector a space to discuss innovations, identify business opportunities and develop career skills. GovTravels is designed to engage all levels of experience, from policy makers and CEOs to senior travel officials and junior employees.

Here’s the 50,000-foot overview of what GovTravels contains: Professional enrichment courses will highlight developing trends, training and best practices. Government travel offices will host industry meetings to brief new policies and programs.

And senior leaders will speak on hot topics that affect how both government and the private sector provide travel services. There will also be an exhibit area that will host plentiful networking opportunities during breaks, meals and evening receptions.

If you’re in travel and passenger services, we encourage your participation in GovTravels! We want our program to address the most pressing aspects of travel and passengers services that matter to you. Of

course, take a look at our current webpage, www.ndtahq.com/events/gov-travels/, for up-to-date information and to register for GovTravels. On behalf of NDTA, I look forward to seeing you in March.

Yours Aye, Mark H. Buzby Rear Adm., USN (Ret) President, NDTA

WELC ME

NEW CORPORATE

MEMBERS as of February 1, 2016

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE PLUS • Amtrak SUSTAINING • Bertling Logistics Inc. REGIONAL PATRON • Madison Hospitality • mLINQS, LLC • Staybridge Suites McLean-Tysons Corner Hotel • Wapack Labs Corporation

corporate member upgrades CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE PLUS • Norfolk Southern Corporation SUSTAINING • American Trucking Associations

www.ndtahq.com | 5

R w EGI w S w. TE nd R ta NO hq W .c ! om !

GovTravels Agenda NDTA’s Symposium on Government Travel & Passenger Services March 29-31, 2016 | Alexandria, VA Monday, March 28th

10:30-11:45am SENIOR GOVERNMENT TRAVEL OFFICIAL PANEL –

4:00pm Exhibitor Move-in

“The Way Ahead in Government and Business Travel” Philip Benjamin, Acting Director, Defense Travel Management Office; Craig Flynn, GSA (invited); Leslie Bramlett, SVP El Sol Travel (invited); Mark Stansbury, Manager, Global travel and Event Services, Lockheed Martin (invited).

4:00-6:00pm Registration Desk Open 6:30pm Welcome Reception

11:45am-1:30pm Lunch – Exhibitor area

Tuesday, March 29th 7:00am-4:30pm Registration Desk Open

1:00-3pm DOD CONNECT

7:30-8:30am Newcomer Breakfast and Introduction to Government Travel

1:30-2:15pm SPEAKER – “Aviation Industry

Trends and Developments” by Roberto Ioriatti, Vice President of Pricing and Revenue Management – TPAC, Delta Air Lines (confirmed).

7:30-8:30am Continental Breakfast – Exhibit area 8:45-9:00am OPENING REMARKS –

2:15-3:15pm SPEAKER – “Benchmarking Travel

RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret), President, NDTA

& Expenses” by Heidi Skatrud, SVP of Operations and Product Management, Runzheimer International (confirmed)

9:00-10:00am KEYNOTE SPEAKER –

3:15-3:30pm Daily Feedback & Wrap-up

“A Conversation with the Honorable Judge William H. Webster,” former Director of the FBI and CIA, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

5:00-7:00pm President’s Reception –

10:00-10:30am Break – Exhibitor area

Exhibitor area

Wednesday, March 30th 7:00am-4:30pm Registration Desk Open 7:30am-8:30pm Continental Breakfast – Exhibit area

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8:30-9:00am SPEAKER – “Travel Technology

Today and Tomorrow” by Tracy Maier, BCD Travel.

8:30-10:00am SESSION 1:

Professional Enrichment Courses

9:00-10:00am PANEL – “Risk Messaging and Duty of Care” Moderator J. Kelly Stewart, Newcastle Consulting; Tony Peter, Travelinc; John Coovert, Concur; others pending.

10:00-10:30am Break – Exhibit area 10:30am-11:10pm RAPID FIRE TMC PANEL –

Moderator Jonathan Sutter, Empowered Thought Leadership; Ted Lawson, National Travel; Lisa Longley, BCD Travel; Lee Brubaker, Agency Technology.

10:30am-12:00pm SESSION 2:

Professional Enrichment Courses

11:10am-12:00pm PANEL – “Visionary Circle”

Moderator Adam Joseph, Concur, other panelists to be determined.

12:00-1:00pm Lunch – Exhibit area 1:00-2:30pm SESSION 3:

Professional Enrichment Courses

2:30-3:00pm Break – Exhibit area

AS OF FEBRUARY 2, 2016. SUBJECT TO CHANGE

3:00-4:30pm SESSION 4:

Professional Enrichment Courses

5:00-7:00pm President’s Reception – Exhibit area

Thursday, March 31st 7:30am-1:00pm Registration Desk Open 7:30-8:30am Continental Breakfast – Exhibit area 8:30-10:00am GSA Meets with TMCs 10:00-10:30am Break – Exhibit area 10:30am-12:00pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

• Government Managed Lodging Programs (Part 1) – DOD Preferred • US Government Car Rental Agreement

12:00-1:00pm Lunch – Exhibit area 1:00-2:30pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS: •

•

•

Government Managed Lodging Programs (Part 2) – FedRooms Transportation Supplies for RSVP & Car Sharing DTMO Meets with CTOs

3:00pm NDTA Passenger Travel Services Committee & Subcommittee Meetings

GovTravels Expo & Sponsorships

SHOWCASE YOUR BRAND AT THIS YEAR’S EVENT

WHAT TO EXPECT AT GOVTRAVELS • Industry meetings hosted by government travel offices from GSA and DTMO to discuss policies and programs • Insights on today’s travel security environment from Judge William H. Webster, former director of the CIA and FBI, and current chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee • Presentations by government and industry leaders – including GSA, DTMO, Delta Air Lines & Runzheimer International – on issues impacting travel services • Professional enrichment courses highlighting industry trends, training, and best practices • An extensive exhibition area for business connections, networking and social events • Newcomers’ breakfast and introduction to government travel The GovTravels Symposium Sponsor & Exhibit Program provides an exceptional opportunity for businesses to showcase their distinct products and establish business relationships. Both sponsors and exhibitors will be prominently featured in the lower lobby foyer—a central location for the main symposium spaces.

If you serve government and/or military guests, or would like to, we encourage your participation

March 29-31, in GovTravels, the NDTA symposium on government travel & passenger services.

For more information, visit: http://www.ndtahq.com/ events/gov-travels/ndtaexpo-and-sponsorships/

WHY EXHIBIT? • Network with all levels of government, DOD and industry decision makers in passenger travel • Learn more about the government’s latest rules, regulations & procedures • Stay current on developments in government & private sector passenger travel • Interact with your government, military and industry customers • Secure qualified leads • Demonstrate your latest properties, products & services www.ndtahq.com | 7

The Integrated Lodging Program Pilot Photos courtesy of DTMO

Establishing an Enterprise-Wide Managed Lodging Program

By Betsey Grundy, Defense Travel Management Office

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epartment of Defense (DOD) lodging programs lacked an enterprisewide scope or approach; that is until 2015, when the Department launched the DOD Integrated Lodging Program Pilot, a first step toward an enterprise-wide managed lodging program.

The lack of a DOD-wide managed program, coupled with the issuance of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memo M-12-12, Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations, directing all federal agencies to reduce their travel spend by 30 percent and leverage their buying power, prompted DOD to take a look at lodging.

The Defense Travel Management Office, DOD’s single focal point for commercial travel, estimated that a managed commercial lodging program would produce a minimum of $28M in estimated annual savings, with a goal of obtaining rates below per diem that include standard amenities while fulfilling responsibilities for “duty of care.” As a result, the Department launched its Integrated Lodging Program Pilot in June 2015. The pilot is designed to assist the Department in determining the best approach for providing quality government (DOD) and commercial lodging with the 8 |

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goal of achieving reduced rates, better services, and greater safety and security for the traveler. The program directs travelers who are on official travel to select pilot sites to use government or DOD Preferred commercial lodging before other lodging accommodations. The pilot program is also a congressional interest item, authorized by Section 914 of the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 113-291).

Currently, there are fourteen pilot sites. The initial pilot locations included: Charleston, South Carolina-Joint Base Charleston; Dayton, Ohio-Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Norfolk, Virginiaselected military installations; Saratoga Springs, New York-Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs (commercial only); Seattle, Washington-SeattleTacoma Airport Area (commercial only); Tampa, FloridaMacDill Air Force Base; and Twentynine Palms, California-Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. On January 1, 2016, the pilot expanded to four additional sites: Hampton, Virginia-Langley Air Force Base; Newport News, Virginia-Fort Eustis; Petersburg, Virginia-Fort Lee, and Rock Island, Illinois-Rock Island Arsenal.

The pilot sites selected to participate are DOD installations/metro areas with more

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than 10,000 commercial lodging room nights annually. Vendors selected to participate must offer room rates at least 10 percent below the locality per diem rate.

Current pilot locations constitute approximately eight percent of DOD’s continental US annual lodging spend.

The DOD Integrated Lodging Program Pilot affords an excellent opportunity to not only leverage the Department’s collective purchasing power, but also to incorporate program enhancements that ensure a certain level of “duty of care” for its travelers. The program: • Enables travelers to use the Defense Travel System to find trusted lodging providers (government and DOD Preferred commercial).

• Ensures travelers are staying in quality lodging facilities that are close to their travel destinations; protects travelers from certain fees; and provides amenities at no additional cost with room rates below the established government per diem rates.

• Enhances traveler care and satisfaction; provides greater traveler security; reduces lodging spend per night; and improves program management and data collection.

DOD PREFERRED COMMERCIAL LODGING

As part of the program, DOD is implementing a corporate-style competitive sourcing model facilitated through the General Services Administration’s FedRooms® program. The Defense Travel Management Office uses the GSA/FedRooms contract vehicle to negotiate commercial lodging at the selected pilot site locations through a third party vendor for rates below per diem that meet established requirements. All commercial lodging properties participating in the DOD Integrated Lodging Program Pilot must meet strict criteria to participate in, and remain a part of the program. Selection criteria include the following categories: • Traveler Safety and Security – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) certified; American Disabilities Act and Virginia Graeme-Baker Act Pool Safety compliant; fire safety evacuation plan in place; interior access doors (unless location options limited); 24/7 security monitoring by either security patrol or surveillance camera; well-lit halls, public spaces, and parking areas; dead bolts, safety chains, and door viewer on room doors.

• Traveler Quality Accommodations – minimum of two crown midscale quality hotel (comparable to AAA 2-diamond); renovation in the last five years; non-smoking rooms; in-room cable or satellite TV; free high speed internet or in-room Wi-Fi; individual room temperature control; one day valet laundry/dry cleaning available; clock radio/ alarm/hair dryer.

• Traveler Financial Protections – no deposits required; no cancellation fee 4pm or earlier; no charge for early departure; no minimum stay; no day of the week restriction; no added facility fee when not used by traveler (e.g., fitness center); no resort fee.

• Traveler Conveniences – located close to DOD installation; DOD Preferred commercial properties predominantly displayed in the Defense Travel System; accepts the government travel charge card.

Commercial hotels have an opportunity to apply to participate in the program pilot as a DOD Preferred commercial prop-

erty during each solicitation period. Hotels that already participate in the current program must also reapply and compete for DOD’s lodging business. All commercial hotels must continue to meet DOD standards for quality, safety and security, offer rates below per diem, and provide certain amenities and travel protections throughout the performance period to participate.

HOW IT WORKS

This program is supported through policy thanks to a change in law granted by SEC 914 of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. The Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) now requires travelers on official travel to pilot sites to stay at government (DOD) or DOD Preferred commercial lodging facilities and use the Defense Travel System to book their stay. If government or DOD Preferred lodging is available and the traveler chooses other accommodations, reimbursement of lodging costs is limited to

traveler selects lodging other than directed government or DOD Preferred, their lodging cost reimbursement will be limited. A traveler who is not approved for an exception to policy and selects lodging that is more expensive must pay out of pocket.

MEASURING SUCCESS

The Defense Travel Management Office’s pilot study plan includes several performance metrics to assess results and evaluate success, including overall savings and customer satisfaction.

Savings: Between July and December 2015, travelers paid an average of 81.9 percent of per diem at an average discount of $19.00 per night at the seven pilot sites.

On an annual basis, these savings would grow to approximately $2M. Additional non-quantified savings accrued to the Department from other sources, to include some of the following: (1) free negotiated amenities otherwise paid as a reimbursable

All commercial hotels must continue to meet DOD standards for quality, safety and security, offer rates below per diem, and provide certain amenities and travel protections throughout the performance period to participate

the amount the government would have paid for the available directed lodging.

When creating an authorization for overnight travel, the Defense Travel System automatically routes users to make lodging reservations. If traveling to an Integrated Lodging Program Pilot site, the system guides travelers to first select either DOD government lodging or DOD Preferred commercial lodging, depending on whether the traveler’s orders identify the traveler’s destination as a military installation or as the surrounding metro area. If a

expense (e.g., free internet and parking), (2) increased usage of the government travel charge card resulting in increased rebates, (3) reduction in reimbursements for various lodging fees (e.g., late arrival or early departure), and (4) reduction in Commercial Travel Office (CTO) “touch” fees. Additional non-quantified savings and cost avoidance that accrue to DOD’s travelers include: (1) free breakfast (73% of hotels), (2) free fitness center privilegSee Lodging, pg. 28 www.ndtahq.com | 9

The United States Transportation Command’s Enterprise Readiness Center (ERC) and the Role of the Private Sector Representative (PSR)

By Linda Szabo, USTRANSCOM Enterprise Readiness Center Photos courtesy of USTRANSCOM Public Affairs

Army Col. Kris Rogers, USTRANSCOM’S ERC Director, Al Lopez, ERC-I, Tye Beasley, SDDC, Tim Boemecke, ERC-I, and PSR Greg Dunnuck, discuss the amendments to the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) resulting from new container weight verification requirements.

Disclaimer: The overarching goal for USTRANSCOM is to draw upon the PSR’s experience at a strategic level, but not involve him/her in specific procurement or in the detailed implementation of those strategies thereby avoiding a conflict of interest situation.

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he establishment of the Enterprise Readiness Center (ERC) and the integration of the Private Sector Representative (PSR) program epitomize the United States Transportation Command’s (USTRANSCOM’s) commitment to maintain readiness of organic and commercial assets supporting the Defense Transportation System (DTS).

USTRANSCOM, through its organic and contracted support with commercial industry, manages and operates one of the largest, most complex logistics networks in the world.

The complexities faced by the command transverse seven continents, five major oceans, and the seas in-between. Regardless of geography, USTRANSCOM develops consistent and reliable full-spectrum global mobility solutions and related enabling capabilities for customers who have come to rely on the command to accomplish their peacetime and wartime missions.

As the United States draws down from more than a decade of high-tempo contingency operations, USTRANSCOM remains committed to focusing on and maintaining readiness of the DTS to ensure national interests are not put at risk.

As the United States draws down from over a decade of hightempo contingency operations, USTRANSCOM remains committed to focusing on and maintaining readiness of the DTS to ensure national interests are not put at risk.

To enhance DTS readiness, USTRANSCOM created the ERC to focus on leveraging existing commercial transportation industry infrastructure and resources and Department of Defense (DOD) organic transportation resources to formulate better solutions to improve DTS capabilities. The result was the creation of an organization whose major objectives are to cultivate, strengthen and improve partnerships with members of the mobility enterprise, ensure viability of organic and commercial mobility capability, and preserve readiness of the DTS.

The ERC achieved initial operating capability September 27, 2012 and became fully operational January 1, 2013.

Its mission: Keep military and commercial planes, ships, trains and trucks supporting the DTS ready to meet the needs of the nation on a moment’s notice.

Members of the ERC realize the critical importance of managing and continuously monitoring DTS workload for readiness purposes and constantly strive to understand and achieve this balance.

ERC personnel are operationally focused, are dynamically linked to industry, possess a business-oriented way of thinking, work collaboratively and transparently, have an enterprise-holistic perspective, and are customer-focused both internally and externally.

The ERC comprises two divisions, the Intermodal Programs Division (ERC-I) and the Business Management Division (ERC-B).

ERC-I is the command’s focal point for assessing and evaluating strategic mobility capabilities, long-range programs, requirements and priorities for air, sea and land transportation. This includes www.ndtahq.com | 11

understanding and addressing the readiness and sustainability of such strategic programs as the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), Maritime Security Program (MSP), and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA).

ERC-I also ensures a robust DOD strategic lift capability by monitoring and assessing trends in the civil sector and industrial base relative to air, sea and land transportation. This division then recommends policies, procedures and programs to ensure warfighter lift requirements are met.

ERC-1 Division Chief Al Lopez explains, “The division’s close-in goal is to increase communications with the commercial sector via modal-specific Executive Working Groups (EWGs).” EWGs meet twice annually with each mode of the transportation industry. The CRAF EWG is the commercial airlift forum, VISA EWGs involve the commercial sealift sector, and the Surface EWGs represent the trucking and rail community of interest. In the last three years, the division also led the Command’s successful co-sponsorship effort with the National Defense Transportation Association’s (NDTA) annual Fall Meeting.

The ERC-I division is not new. It was realigned from a stand-alone division within USTRANSCOM to create synergy with the newly established ERC-B division.

The ERC-B is a cross-functional organization that identifies and evaluates new workload opportunities and complementary processes to preserve organic and commercial readiness. They facilitate the 12 |

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development of innovative, strategic and customer-focused global mobility solutions for DOD and non-DOD customers alike.

Personnel in this division have backgrounds in operations, logistics, surface and air movements, financial management, and acquisition. This division is also supported by a handful of contractors and liaison officers from the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

The construct of ERC-B enables members to develop and coordinate detailed transportation solutions for agencies such as Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of State and other DOD and nonDOD entities. Customers receive step-bystep movement plans which allow for their transportation requirement to flow seamlessly to entities within USTRANSCOM and its component commands, Air Mobility Command (AMC), Military Sealift Command (MSC), and SDDC, for execution.

ERC-B personnel have advocated for, and have succeeded in, developing partnerships among USTRANSCOM, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) and DLA to develop end-to-end transportation solutions for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. This partnership has improved FMS transportation by providing the security cooperation enterprise “best-value” transportation solutions within the DTS. In 2014, DSCA and USTRANSCOM signed a “Best-Value Consideration” memo recognizing the DTS as a viable delivery

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option for FMS materiel. This allows FMS customers to leverage organic and commercial DTS and DLA Distribution Services (freight forwarder-like consolidation capabilities) for competitive transportation options for partner nations.

Marketing, as well as evaluation of DTS policy and review of customer experiences, falls within the realm of ERC-B. For example, ERC-B was instrumental in gaining congressional authorization via the National Defense Authorization Act to offer DOD rates to FMS customers, state, local and tribal agencies, and DOD contractors, when transporting supplies that are for—or destined for—a DOD entity.

They engage with OSD, the Joint Staff, and the United States Mission to the United Nations (UN) to provide strategic lift and subject matter capability in support of the UN. Over the past few years they have met with numerous foreign embassy personnel and international partners to socialize the capabilities of the DTS. Many of these engagements led to the movement of partner nation cargo in the DTS, such as the Philippines, Ukraine, Romania, Israel and Greece.

PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVE

To further assist the ERC in its efforts to increase DTS business, the National Defense Transportation Association proposed the Private Sector Representative (PSR) Program to USTRANSCOM. The command approved the proposal for a special rotating position within the ERC, which was stood up in October 2013.

The PSR position mutually benefits USTRANSCOM and participating industry partners by sharing information, leveraging best government/industry practices, strengthening partnerships, and providing professional development opportunities for participants.

Combining the industry expertise and commercial acumen of the PSR and its military process and procedures, USTRANSCOM leverages the latest and greatest corporate concepts while simultaneously factoring in the structure and process required of the DTS. To this end, the PSR provides real-time, industry insight into the intricacies of dynamically managing a global supply chain, allowing USTRANSCOM the latitude to design, implement, and manage the vast DTS network.

Greg Dunnuck from Maersk Line, Ltd. has served as USTRANSCOM’s inaugural PSR. Subsequent to his appointment, the command added a second PSR to the ERC team—Brian Andrusin from Damco.

Dunnuck’s first challenge was to lay the groundwork for the program.

“The first step was to build relationships,” said Dunnuck. “It takes time for both parties to develop the best way to utilize a new asset and gain value from it.”

Following that first step, communication became crucial for the PSR’s continued success.

“Once those relationships were established, Greg was able to proactively engage in regular, meaningful communication, which dramatically enhanced the situational awareness of real-time capabilities that enabled decision-makers to formulate transportation options based on the most up-to-date, relevant, and accurate data for the government and the private sector,” said Garth Sanginiti, Chief of ERC-B. When asked about his duties in the ERC, Dunnuck said, “I can say the details

have been sorted and the PSR is an active member of the ERC team. The ERC often uses the PSR as a resource on challenging logistical requests and for an industry perspective when pursuing emerging business opportunities.”

Most recently, Dunnuck has been involved in discussions on container weight verification. In November 2014, the International Maritime Organization adopted mandatory amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2 – Cargo information. The SOLAS convention is accepted as worldwide law, so changes also impact DOD. The SOLAS amendments become effective on July 1, 2016 for packed containers received for transportation. The amendments require shippers of packed containers, regardless of who packed the container, to verify and provide the container’s gross verified weight to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to it being loaded onto a ship for export.

The vessel operator and the terminal operator must use verified container weights

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in vessel stowage plans and are prohibited from loading a packed container aboard a vessel for export if the container does not have a verified container weight. The ERC is working with shippers from across the

The PSR position mutually benefits USTRANSCOM and participating industry partners by sharing information, leveraging best government/industry practices, strengthening partner­ships, and providing professional develop­ment opportunities for participants.

DOD such as SDDC, Navy Exchange Service Command and Army and Air Force Exchange Service to ensure they are aware of this upcoming requirement and can meet the deadline.

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In his PSR capacity, Dunnuck became an early participant in these discussions.

He was able to give his insight on how industry will receive the container weight verification from shippers.

“Adding a verified weight requirement for shipping containers has a dramatic impact on the transportation industry,” said Dunnuck. “Without a thorough understanding of this new requirement, defense shipments could be frustrated in ports… critical items needed on the battlefront could be delayed if USTRANSCOM isn’t aligned with the new SOLAS requirements.”

Unlike Dunnuck, who spends several hours each week at USTRANSCOM, Andrusin supports USTRANSOM from his company’s offices in either Dallas, Texas, or Reston, Virginia.

Andrusin’s primary role as a PSR has been to provide candid, nonbiased, independent feedback to USTRANSCOM on questions or concerns related to transportation and logistical issues.

For example, Andrusin was asked how commercial airlines determine a competitive market price for chartered airlift.

According to Andrusin, positioning and depositioning costs are typically passed to the customer as a percentage of the overall charter and the commercial market uses a variety of pricing scenarios tailored to a customer’s requirements.

USTRANSCOM uses slightly different variables to determine price. In the DTS, Special Assignment Airlift Missions (SAAM) pricing is based on full plane loads and includes positioning/depositioning costs, if applicable, in the total price. The DTS also has what is called a Channel Mission where customers pay only for the weight or cube of their cargo (whichever is greater), or per passenger, but this is limited to locations where there are pre-established Channel routes.

Similar to the DTS’s Channel Missions, commercial providers tend to share space on charters, however they are not limited by location. Commercial industry shares space and costs on their assets whenever and wherever it makes sense to do so.

While commercial industry and the DTS have similar airlift charter processes, this is one example of how working with a PSR has potentially uncovered an area where USTRANSCOM could review commer14 |

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From left to right: Army Maj. Chad Blacketer, ERC-B Deputy, Garth Sanginiti, ERC-B Division Chief, and Greg Dunnuck, US Transportation Command Private Sector Representative, review the command’s external web page, which was recently redesigned to better support communications between the command, industry, and customers.

Clearly, the PSR program is one way USTRANSCOM continues to explore opportunities to partner with the commercial transportation industry to maintain relevance and effectiveness and retain the surge capacity needed to meet the nation’s transportation requirements in peace and war.

cial practices to determine if there are any that would make a good fit for today’s DTS customers.

“As a prior service member and as a supply chain professional, I’m proud that we’re able to help implement solutions in both industry and the military,” said Andrusin. “The PSR role allows USTRANSCOM to put their mission first, but also provides USTRANSCOM leaders a different perspective on how to factor in effi-

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ciency and optimization into their supply chain process.”

Clearly, the PSR program is one way USTRANSCOM continues to explore opportunities to partner with the commercial transportation industry to maintain relevance and effectiveness and retain the surge capacity needed to meet the nation’s transportation requirements in peace and war.

USTRANSCOM, with support from commercial industry, is a highly complex organization providing responsive global mobility services around the world. The ERC, in collaboration with industry, will continue to play a vital role ensuring the readiness of the DTS. The future will require integral support from the PSR to improve lines of communication and provide real-time analysis on industry trends for possible application to the DTS. “Failure is not an option and maintaining readiness is a must,” said Army Col. Kris Rogers, Chief of the ERC. “USTRANSCOM and industry have a lot to gain from each other—through this invaluable teamwork we will continue to achieve the USTRANSCOM motto…Together, we deliver!” DTJ

Borrowing from the Enemy

By Alexander F. Barnes, CW-4 (Ret.), Command Historian, Virginia National Guard

“The quickest route to peace is by employing the maximum effort,” Secretary of War Newton Baker transports an Army to France and redefines “maximum effort.”

O

n 28 May 1917, General John J. Pershing left New York City for France aboard the USS Baltic to establish the advance headquarters for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Accompanying him were 191 soldiers and Marines. Although their departure was considered top secret, one of the coast artillery batteries fired a salute as the ship sailed by. It was an inauspicious start for what many of the Allied leaders from France, Italy and Great Britain hoped would be a fast rising flood of American soldiers. They were to be very disappointed.

Not only was the American Army of 1917 extremely small, less than two hundred thousand soldiers, it was more equipped and trained to fight the 1898 SpanishAmerican War than take on the extremely modern Imperial German Army in the trenches of France.

Although the US government was beginning to recruit, equip and train a large modern army, it would take time and a lot of transportation capability to move it across the Atlantic to France. Unfortunately, as the Army started to round into size and shape, much of the transportation capability needed to move the force was littering the bottom of the ocean. The German Navy’s surface raiders and submarine fleet had ravaged the shipping fleets of the Allied and Neutral countries to the point that they could not replace half of their losses, even with a massive shipbuilding program. By July 1917 British Admiral Lord Charles Beresford expressed his fears quite clearly by reporting he was “distressed at the fact that it appears... impossible to provide enough ships to bring the American Army over… and, after they are brought over, to supply

Top: The USS Covington, formerly the German ship Cincinnati, shown here just before sinking after being torpedoed on 2 July 1918.

Fortunately for the Americans, the major transport ship losses all took place on the homeward voyage with relatively empty berthing spaces. Courtesy US Navy.

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the enormous amount of shipping which will be required to keep them full up with munition, food and equipment.” The German General Staff agreed completely. In their opinion, the American Army would not be able to cross the ocean in sufficient numbers or in time to impact the fighting on the Western Front. Many American planners also felt that shipping was an unsolvable problem. Nevertheless, President Woodrow Wilson had committed the United States to war. His Secretary of War, Newton Baker, was determined to end the “Great War” by bringing it to a quick and victorious conclusion. Facing him, however, were some harsh truths: 1. The German submarine fleet, although primitive by the standards of the fleet that Germany would field in the Second World War, was proving an effective tool in greatly reducing the flow of transatlantic shipping.

2. The American shipping fleet was large but, being focused almost exclusively on local North American trade, was totally unequipped to move the thousands of men General Pershing needed in France.

3. What remained of the useable French and British commercial shipping fleets came with a price tag. The Allied commanders wanted the American Doughboys to fill the manpower gaps that the Germans had ripped in the Allied armies and therefore they were determined to dictate what kind of soldiers and equipment would be transported in their countries’ ships.

Their insistence on restricting passage to only infantrymen would defeat Pershing’s unshakeable desire to field a completely American army serving under American leaders.

Given this list of problems, Baker could be forgiven if he were discouraged. Fortunately, he was made of sterner stuff and therefore decided to attack the problems head on. With the Navy’s assurance that their warships could protect the trans16 |

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port ships through the use of convoys and vigorous anti-submarine tactics, Baker checked the first problem off his list. The Navy proved as good as its word. The majority of the American fleet was transferred to the Atlantic seaboard and careful coordination with the British fleet helped to maximize the number of anti-submarine vessels assigned to convoy protection. It also helped that the Navy had begun conducting “refueling at sea” operations just a few months before and was now able to ex-

tend the sailing distance of the newer ships in the destroyer fleet.

Baker also knew that Pershing had the complete backing of President Wilson when it came to Army decisions. Therefore, he left the American commander and his staff to deal with the Allied efforts to piecemeal the American force into their armies. Pershing and the US Army staff had developed a strategic and tactical concept that centered on a “million-man field army” structure. This force would consist of thirty divisions divided into, and controlled by, five corps with six divisions each. Inside of each corps there would also be a number of corps-owned units such as heavy artillery, long range-signal, aviation and observation balloon units, and engineer specialty units. If reduced to only shipping infantrymen, the American

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Army would end up as a feeder system to the Allied forces. Holding the line against most of the French and British attempts to take over his soldiers, and carefully cooperating at other times, Pershing managed to keep the American Army in one piece as a cohesive fighting force.

Baker was left with the lack of US transport ships as his biggest problem. Needless to say, he had other major headaches. One was the huge amount of rail resources required to move soldiers from their training camps scattered throughout the country to the East Coast ports of embarkation (POE). This proved to be a real challenge as every troop train heading eastward meant one less coal train delivering heating fuel to the large cities of the country. Without coal to run the industrial blast furnaces and to heat homes, it was feared that the houses and factories in much of the most populated areas of the country would soon be turning cold and dark. Even nature seemed against Baker as the winter of 1917-1918 proved to be one of the coldest on record.

Mayors of some large cities found themselves forced to hijack coal shipments as they passed through their railyards to provide fuel for their homes and factories.

Yet the truly vexing problem was ships. The US maritime fleet had many ships but very few of them were trans-Atlantic voyage capable. The few ships that were capable and available were loaded with soldiers and dispatched to France under the new convoy system but at nowhere near the speed or efficiency the other Allies expected or hoped for. The lack of shipping capacity continued to be the chokepoint or bottleneck of the logistical and deployment pipeline. The rapid movement of troops by rail from the camps to the eastern seaboard sometimes compounded the problem. There simply weren’t enough ships to get the Doughboys across the Atlantic Ocean and now thousands of Doughboys were being crowded into transit camps near the ports. Adding to the dilemma, winter storms at sea had

Top: Soldiers of the 42nd “Rainbow” Division crowd the deck of the President Lincoln while en route to France in October 1917.

Among the very first of the Doughboys to deploy, these soldiers would participate in a number of hard fought campaigns.

The President Lincoln was torpedoed and sunk in May 1918. Courtesy US Navy.

Bottom: An interesting graphic depiction of the American and Canadian ports of embarkation and the arrival ports in France and England. The figures next to each location name represent the total number of Doughboys transiting that port. Courtesy US Army.

Opposite: Two samples of the safe arrival cards sent home by the Doughboys. These cards were filled out at the transit camps and turned in to the port authorities as the Doughboys boarded their ship. When news of the ship’s safe arrival in Europe was telegraphed to the port of embarkation, the post cards would then be sent home to the soldier’s family. Courtesy of Alexander F. Barnes.

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Top left: Another of the impounded German ships: the USS Huron, formerly known as the Friedrich der Grosse. During the war the Huron would make 8 voyages and carry almost 21,000 Doughboys to France. Courtesy US Navy.

Top right: The USS Leviathan, formerly the Vaterland, painted in camouflage and making one of her nine voyages to France. Courtesy US Navy.

Middle: Another view of the Leviathan as she arrives in Brest, France. The official caption that accompanied this picture provided the information that 12,000 soldiers, 4,000 sailors, 200 nurses and 700 officers were on board the ship during this voyage. Courtesy US Army.

Bottom: US Navy destroyers in Brest harbor in between convoys. In the Second World War many of these same destroyers would be “lend-leased� to Great Britain to serve again as convoy escorts. Courtesy of Alexander F. Barnes.

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slowed the departure and passage of the ships that were loaded and under way to France and Britain.

The Germans saw what was going on in the US and were adding to the problem by aggressively attacking all along the Western Front, threatening to win the war before the Americans could make a difference. Having victoriously ended their war against Russia, the Germans were moving their Eastern Front forces westward towards France. Struggling to get the AEF moving towards the front, US Army General Tasker Bliss wrote in exasperation to Secretary Baker that the Army had reached the point “where it is evident that if we do not send enough troops promptly, we must face the probability of losing the insufficient numbers that we may have sent.”

Bliss had already taken his best shot and attempted to organize the ports through a centralized embarkation office directly under his control. He had even commandeered the massive German-owned Hamburg American Lines port facilities in Hoboken but it still was not enough.

The Americans needed more ships than were readily available but where could they come from? Playing the last card in his hand, Baker authorized that German ships interned in US ports since the outset of war could be used as troopships. This solution turned out to be more of a challenge than expected because of the German captains and crews of the captive ships. Rightfully fearing that their vessels would be used against their Fatherland, German sailors carried out a program of deliberate sabotage. A US Navy admiral later wrote of his personal shock at this effort: “To a man who really loves his ship, malicious injury to her by her own captain seems almost impossible; but the Teutonic mind is utilitarian rather than sentimental, and so…the captains of these ships…set to with sledge and chisel to wreck and destroy.”

Fortunately for the Americans, the Germans “blundered in the job.” The German sailors had underestimated the American skills with ship repair and electro-welding.

Most of the deliberate damage had been to the vessels’ engines. The Americans quickly set to work, either creating new parts or welding the old parts back into place.

Working around the clock seven days a week, the repair crews brought the ships back on line and made them seaworthy. By the time they were finished, the Americans had repaired and placed back into commission eighteen German ships. In most cases,

on completion of repair work the ships were given new names. The repaired vessels were: Original Name New Name Grosser Kurfust.............. Aeolus Kaiser Wilhelm II.......... Agamemnon Amerika........................ America Neckar.......................... Antigone Cincinnati.................... Covington Prinz Eitel Friedrich...... De Kalb George Washington........ George Washington Fredrich der Grosse........ Huron Vaterland...................... Leviathan Koenig Wilhelm............. Madawaska Barbarossa..................... Mercury Kronprinzessin Cecile..... Mount Vernon Princess Irene................. Pocahontas Hamburg...................... Powhatan President Grant............. President Grant President Lincoln........... President Lincoln Rhein............................ Susquehanna Kronprinz Wilhelm........ Von Steuben While most of the repair work was performed at the New York City port complex, the ports of Boston, Norfolk and Philadelphia also repaired some of the ships. It was a major success for the US, adding greatly needed shipping capacity to support the movement of the soldiers to France. Particularly important were the Leviathan, noted to be the largest ship in the world at the time, the President Grant, and the George Washington. Another German ship, the Princess Alice, was impounded in the Philippines, was renamed the Princess Matoika and put into service. Very quickly the impounded German ships proved to be worth the efforts made to repair them. Of the twelve ships noted for carrying the most soldiers to France, the top six were former German vessels. The number of soldiers they transported is phenomenal: Leviathan carried 119,000 soldiers in 9 trips, George Washington 48,373 in 9 trips, President Grant 39,974 in 8 trips, America 39,768 in 9 trips, Agamemnon 36,097 in 10 trips, and Mount Vernon 33,692 in 9 trips.

These six ships alone delivered the equivalent of fourteen of Pershing’s 28,000-man divisions. Only two original US-owned ships, ironically enough both named for US railroads, were in the top 12: Great Northern transported 28,248 in 9 trips and Northern Pacific 20,711 in 9 trips.

German origin or not, the impounded ships became targets for the German submarines. Of the eighteen newly American ships, three were torpedoed. All three were on west-bound return voyages and empty

Top: The uniform coat of a Quartermaster Corps Lieutenant assigned to the New York Port of Embarkation unit. The port of New York also included the piers of Hoboken, Newark, and Elisabeth City, New Jersey.

Uniform courtesy of Randy Kaliszewski.

Bottom: The work uniform belonging to Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas Edward Cavaness assigned to the USS Kansas. The Kansas was a Connecticut-class battleship that conducted convoy escort duties and after the Armistice also served as a troopship, bringing home more than 7,000 Doughboys. Uniform courtesy Mary Kelly.

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Typical of the Doughboys undergoing training in the States, this soldier poses for a portrait in a studio near Camp Johnston in Florida. Courtesy of Alexander F. Barnes.

The boarding pass provided to a soldier prior to boarding the Leviathan. By late 1918, with the onset of the Spanish Flu, the warning to not spit on the deck became as critically important as knowing the abandon ship mustering station. Courtesy of Alexander F. Barnes.

of soldiers. The Covington and President Lincoln were sunk and the Mount Vernon was damaged but reparable.

Always seeking to add even more vessels to speed up the deployment of the AEF, Baker directed Herbert Hoover, the Director of Food Administration (and future President of the United States), to hand over to General Bliss some of the vessels being used for subsistence shipments to Europe. Baker also dispatched his staff to investigate means of speeding up the loading and unloading of ships when they were in harbor. He recognized that faster turnaround times could further maximize the tonnage and personnel capacity of the fleet of transport ships. With all of these efforts to his credit, it is important to remember that that Wilson had been criticized by pro-war US leaders for selecting Baker, a well-known pacifist, as his Secretary of War. On the other hand, Baker’s selection had been seen favorably by many pacifists or isolationists who strongly opposed America’s participation in the war being fought in Europe. They believed Baker would help keep the U.S. out of the fight.

Unfortunately for Baker, the day after he was sworn into office in March 1916, Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico. The attack immediately put Baker’s personal anti-war beliefs to a difficult test.

It didn’t get any easier, and by April 1917 the US was at war with Germany. Even with these challenges, Baker maintained as much as possible his pacifist leanings and wrote “the quickest route to peace is by employing the maximum effort and every possible facility to the fullest extent at the earliest possible moment.”

However, until the German ships could be repaired and begin their shuttle to Europe as part of the nation’s maximum shipping effort, the situation in France remained

bleak. When Pershing left for France, he was accompanied by his staff and barely enough soldiers to hold a decent formation.

He was counting on the War Department to start sending him the troops he would need to build his army from the ground up. With each passing week a few more American soldiers appeared in France and were transferred to training facilities where they became acclimatized to France and the dreary European weather. More than one Doughboy would write home saying that “sometimes it doesn’t rain in France.”

By the end of the autumn of 1917, Pershing had four divisions training in France.

The 1st Division had been joined by the

By the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, there were slightly more than two million Doughboys in France. The irony is that in a very large part, it was the former German vessels that made this claim possible.

26th Division, organized from the units of the New England National Guard. At the same time, the 2nd Division was being built out of separate Regular Army and Marine Corps units. This was a unique composite unit with one infantry brigade of soldiers and the other of Marines. The 1st, 2nd, and the 26th Divisions were joined shortly thereafter by another National Guard unit, the 42nd “Rainbow” Division.

Pershing’s four divisions were suffering from the harsh European winter of 19171918 as much as the citizens back in the States. In response to a letter complaining of a shortage of shoes for soldiers in the 1st Division, former US President Teddy Roosevelt paid for and shipped two hundred

pairs to his son Archie’s regiment. Many other soldiers were still wearing the lightweight summer uniforms in which they had deployed to France. It’s no wonder that the Doughboys in France began to refer to their plight as being a “Valley Forge winter.”

In spite of the arrival of more American units in France in late 1917 and early 1918, the Doughboys’ contribution to the fighting had actually been minimal to this point.

Pershing’s casualty report to the War Department in April 1918 reflected that. He reported a total to date of 317 soldiers killed in action, 200 killed in accidents, and 947 died of disease. Even counting the 118 who died of wounds and an additional 49 fatalities from gas, his total was less than 2,000.

Even so, despite the relative lack of fighting and the low number of casualties, the number of Doughboys arriving in France was finally starting to become significant in the early spring of 1918.

During a war in which the opposing sides sometimes counted their daily or weekly casualties in the thousands, the American contribution started to become apparent in March 1918 when almost 85,000 soldiers arrived in France. The next month the number was almost 120,000. It more than doubled in May to 245,000. In June, it was 300,000. The next month, even more would arrive. Some of the most effective propaganda leaflets dropped on the German lines were those that boasted “Everyday 10,000 American soldiers arrive in France.” By the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, there were slightly more than two million Doughboys in France. The irony is that in a very large part, it was the former German vessels that made this claim possible.

Bringing them there had been a massive coalition effort; ultimately British ships had carried 48 percent, French ships two www.ndtahq.com | 21

No one was safe from the Spanish Flu, even on navy ships. This somber photograph reflects part of the ceremony for a burial at sea of shipboard flu victims. Courtesy Peck Family.

The Spanish Flu Pandemic Along with thousands of Doughboys, the large transport ships carried an unwelcome passenger: the Spanish Flu. Its impact was exacerbated by the close quarters in the densely packed ships. The flu killed or sickened hundreds of the soldiers crossing the Atlantic. One voyage of the Leviathan proved particularly deadly as the ship became a floating hospital filled with a thousand sick and dying victims. The 57th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, travelling on the Leviathan, buried 200 soldiers in the Brest cemetery after arrival and before even leaving the port. Under better conditions, the ship’s movement could have been stopped and the soldiers quarantined on the East Coast until healthy. Unfortunately, the Meuse-Argonne campaign was taking place exactly at the same time as the worst of the flu epidemic and the need for replacements for battle casualties in the combat divisions was critical. And so the ships continued to sail. In the end, more Doughboys would die from the flu and related diseases such as pneumonia than would be killed by German gunfire.

percent, Italian ships three percent and US ships (including the impounded German vessels) had carried 47 percent. The British contribution is notable; they finally agreed to allow the AEF to set shipping priorities in return for Pershing allowing some of his complete divisions to train in the British sector and later conduct combat operations in conjunction with the British Army. It took thirteen months to deliver the first halfmillion Doughboys but only six months to bring the remaining million and a half.

Knowing that there remained another two million Doughboys in training in the United States and awaiting transportation helped drive the Germans to the Armistice table.

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of transporting the US Army and Marine Corps to battle. Recognizing the accomplishment, Vice Admiral Albert Gleaves later wrote that it was no exaggeration that “the raising, transporting and supplying overseas of this army of two million men will be finally ranked as one of the greatest achievements in the annals of history.” That it was accomplished under the direction of an ardent pacifist and using vessels “borrowed” from the enemy, makes the achievement that much more remarkable. DTJ SOURCES 1 American Legion. Source Records of the Great War Volume VII. Edited by Charles H. Horne.

Indianapolis IN: The American Legion, 1931, p.30.

2 Stewart, Richard W. American Military History;

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3

4

5 6

Volume II Army Historical Series. The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917–2008.

Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington D.C., 2010.

Beaver, Daniel R. Newton D. Baker and the American War Effort, 1917-1919. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1966.

Gleaves, Albert. A History of the Transport Service; Adventures and Experiences of United States Transports and Cruisers in the World War. New York, NY: George H. Doran Company, 1921.

Fleming, Thomas. The Illusion of Victory; America in World War I. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2003.

Hagood, General Johnson. The Services of Supply: A Memoir of the Great War. Cranbury, NJ: The Scholar’s Bookshelf, 2007. Original published in 1927.

For more information about the deployment of the AEF to France see Alexander Barnes’ To Hell with the Kaiser; America Prepares for War 1916-1918.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Education Leads the Way for NDTA in 2016 Irvin Varkonyi, Past President, NDTA DC Chapter and Master Instructor, APICS DC Metro ivarkonyi@scopedu.com

T

he success of University Day at the 2015 NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting reinforced the importance of NDTA’s education mission. NDTA will expand its educational footprint within the transportation, logistics and passenger travel communities at its two main meetings—GovTravels, 29-31 March in Washington, DC, and the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting, 31 October–3 November in St. Louis, Missouri. Professional development of the government workforce, both uniformed and civilian, along with their industry counterparts, is a critical enabler of success in acquisition and sustainment for the government.

Training opportunities at this year’s two meetings will cover a wide range of topics important in the movement of people, assets and information.

Each year, we remind our readers of the meaning of professional development: “The advancement of skills or expertise to succeed in a particular profession especially through continued education.”1 Professional development focuses on the application of knowledge in specific job functions. It complements the education you’ve gained through earning academic degrees. Cost pressure with budgets under stress, has resulted in some decisions to reduce and even eliminate professional development. Such cost savings are likely to be short lived if future productivity falls short of expected performance. NDTA, together with its partners, including USTRANSCOM, is committed to bringing new resources to grow professional development opportunities for the roughly 1,500 attendees expected at these meetings.

sions offered by the General Services Administration 2. The business of defense travel encompassing travel regulations, payments, preferences, and debt management – Sessions offered by the Defense Travel Management Office 3. An industry overview of travel operations based on perspectives of airport operators, hotel supply chains, and academic/educational organizations – Sessions offered by George Washington University, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (invited), Hilton Corporate Supply Chain (invited), and Global Business Travel Association (invited)

GOVTRAVELS 2016

NDTA is pleased to offer focused professional enrichment courses for government and industry travel professionals at GovTravels. There will be three categories of training: 1. The business of Federal Travel Regulations and Airfare Management – Ses-

In cooperation with Northern Virginia Community College Workforce Development, we expect Continuing Education Units to be awarded for attending both professional development and general sessions at GovTravels. These sessions offer a unique opportunity to gain knowledge

in a variety of topics of importance to all stakeholders who provide travel services to the government.

NDTA-USTRANSCOM FALL MEETING

USTRANSCOM has a strong focus on training and education. It partners with external providers as well as internal departments. It also works closely with other DOD units including the Center for Joint and Strategic Logistics, housed at the National Defense University.

Following on the success of the 2015 Fall Meeting, Transportation University 2016 will expand in the number of sessions offered and topics to be explored.

These sessions will support NDTA and USTRANSCOM’s goal of providing the government and industry workforce with up-to-date content on the status of several key areas: 1. Transportation Protective Services (TPS) and the movement of domesSee Education, pg. 28 www.ndtahq.com | 23

OUR VISION To be the world’s leading professional association for individuals working in the global logistic/ transportation system and related industries so we may maximize our contribution to the national security and economic growth of the United States.

OUR MISSION To foster a strong and efficient global logistics and transportation system to support the economy and national security of the United States by: • Advancing the knowledge and science of logistics and transportation within government and industry.

• Facilitating the sharing of knowledge between government and logistics/transportation related industries.

• Educating members on the important issues affecting the global logistics/transportation system.

OUR VALUES Values form the foundation for all that we do in our organization and for our Nation. Our values are our spirit. They are what we believe, what we stand for, and our moral and ethical fiber. The men and women who make up our membership around the

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globe are dedicated to improving our association today and into the future. Our commitment and competency are reflected in our core values: • Integrity: We conduct our business in an open, honest, ethical manner. Exhibit the courage to speak out and express our opinions. Do what is morally and ethically right. Comply with the intent and the “letter” of policies and laws.

• Teamwork: We maximize our collective talents through teams and partnerships based on mutual trust, fairness, respect, cooperation and communication. We promote and recognize creativity and innovation.

• Service: We pursue excellence in all of our endeavors. We anticipate and respond to member and partner needs by providing quality products and services. We take pride in our work and commitment to quality.

• Action: We will listen well, consider the ideas of others, seek counsel and then act decisively.

Relentlessly press for action to resolve an issue or to reach a solution.

• Diversity: We value our members, employees, and supporters, their capabilities and differences, plus the unique contributions that each brings to our organization.

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

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APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP Name

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.

When you join NDTA as a corporate member, your company’s executives will have the opportunity to share ideas with top military, government, and industry officials at NDTA events.

These events are conducted and attended by high-level military decision-makers, defense and other government officials, and industry leaders—the individuals who are setting and influencing the transportation, travel, and logistics agenda for the future.

Position/Title

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Organization Name Mailing Address Position/Title City

State Zip Organization

Work Phone

Email

Birth Date

Chapter Affiliation

Mailing Address City

State Zip

Sponsor Work Phone

Membership Type $110.00 – Regular (3 Years)

Email

Fax

$40.00 – Regular (1 Year)

Membership Type

$30.00 – Young Leaders (35 years or younger) $30.00 – Gov (GS 10 & below)/ Military (Pay grade 03 & below + enlisted grades) $30.00 – Retired (Not employed)

$9,500.00 – Chairman’s Circle Plus (Global or national company with multiple operating entities) $6,200.00 – Chairman’s Circle (Global or national operating company)

$15.00 – Students

$1,200.00 – Sustaining Member (National or Regional operating company)

Amount Remitted $______________________

$550.00 – Regional Patron (Small Business or local operating company)

Donation to the Foundation $______________________

Amount Remitted $______________________ Donation to the Foundation $______________________

Check #_________

Discover

Visa

MasterCard

American Express

Card No.

Check #_________

Discover

Visa

MasterCard

American Express

Card No. Expiration Date

Expiration Date

Cardholder’s Name

Cardholder’s Name

Signature

Signature

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CHAIRMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CIRCLE

These corporations are a distinctive group of NDTA Members who, through their generous support of the Association, have dedicated themselves to supporting an expansion of NDTA programs to benefit our members and defense transportation preparedness.

AAR CORP. + PLUS Agility Defense & Government Services + PLUS AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc. + PLUS American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC) + PLUS Amtrak + PLUS APL Limited + PLUS Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings + PLUS Bennett Motor Express, LLC + PLUS Boyle Transportation, Inc. + PLUS CEVA Logistics + PLUS Concur Technologies, Inc. + PLUS Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC + PLUS FedEx + PLUS Final Mile Logistics + PLUS Freeman Holdings Group + PLUS Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC + PLUS Innovative Logistics, LLC + PLUS International Auto Logistics + PLUS Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics + PLUS Landstar System, Inc. + PLUS Leidos + PLUS Liberty Global Logistics-Liberty Maritime + PLUS Maersk Line, Limited + PLUS Mainfreight, Inc. + PLUS National Air Cargo + PLUS Norfolk Southern Corporation + PLUS Omni Air International + PLUS Panalpina + PLUS Schuyler Line Navigation Company LLC + PLUS TOTE, Inc. + PLUS Universal Truckload Services, Inc. + PLUS Aeroscraft Best Western International BNSF Railway Bristol Associates Choice Hotels International Crowley Maritime Corp.

CSX Transportation Echo Global Logistics, Inc. 26 |

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R & R Trucking Raith Engineering & Mfg. Co. W.L.L. Global Logistics Providers LLC SAIC Hybrid Enterprises The Pasha Group International Shipholding Corporation U.S. Bank Knight Transportation Union Pacific Railroad Matson Navigation Company Inc. UPS National Air Carrier Association Walnut Industries, Inc. Ports America

FEBRUARY 2016

HONOR ROLL

OF

SUSTAINING MEMBERS AND REGIONAL PATRONS

ALL OF THESE FIRMS SUPPORT THE PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF NDTA

SUSTAINING MEMBERS 1-800-PACK-RAT AAT Carriers ABF Freight System, Inc. Accenture Federal Services Advantage Rent A Car Air Transport International, Inc. Airlines for America Albert Moving Al-Hamd International Container Terminal American Maritime Officers American Trucking Associations Army & Air Force Exchange Service ARTEMIS Global Logistics & Solutions Arven Freight Forwarding Arven Services, LLC Associated Global Systems Atlas International ATS Specialized, Inc. Avis Budget Group aVolt Incorporated Baggett Transportation Company Benchmarking Partners, Inc. Bertling Logistics Inc. Boeing Company Bollore Africa Logistics C.L. Services, Inc. C2 Freight Resources, Inc. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Chalich Trucking, Inc. Chamber of Shipping of America Coyne Airways Coyote Logistics, LLC CSRA CWT SatoTravel REGIONAL PATRONS Acme Truck Line, Inc. AFBEN, Inc. Agile Defense, Inc. Airbus Group, Inc. Alaska Marine Lines Alaska West Express American Moving & Storage Association Amyx Association of American Railroads C5T Corporation CakeBoxx Technologies Cargo Experts Corp.

Cavalier Logistics CeLeen LLC Ceres Terminals Incorporated CGM-NV a NovaVision Company Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Chassis King, Inc.

DAMCO Delta Air Lines DHL Express Eagle Freight, LLC Engility Corporation Enterprise Database Corporation Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Europcar Car & Truck Rental Executive Moving Systems, Inc. Extended Stay America, Inc. FlightSafety International Fluor FMN International, Inc. GE Aviation General Dynamics/American Overseas Marine GeoDecisions Greatwide Truckload Management Green Valley Transportation Corp.

Hanjin Intermodal America, Inc. Hertz Corporation Hilton Worldwide Horizon Lines, LLC IBM Institute of Hazardous Materials Management Intercomp Company Intermarine, LLC Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), AFL-CIO International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots Kansas City Southern Keystone Shipping Co. KGL Holding KROWN1 FZC

Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. Labelmaster LMI Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Logistic Dynamics, Inc. M2 Transport Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association Martin Logistics Incorporated Mayflower Transit McCollister’s Transportation Systems, Inc. McLane Advanced Technologies Mercer Transportation Company National Van Lines, Inc. Network FOB, Inc. Northern Air Cargo Inc. Ocean Shipholdings, Inc. Omega World Travel Omnitracs, LLC One Network Enterprises, Inc. Oracle ORBCOMM Panther Premium Logistics PGL Pilot Freight Services PODS Port of Beaumont Port of San Diego Pratt & Whitney Preferred Systems Solutions, Inc. Prestera Trucking, Inc. Priority Solutions International Priority Worldwide Services Ramar Transportation, Inc.

Roadrunner Transportation Systems Savi SBA Global Logistic Services Scotlynn USA Division, Inc. Seafarers International Union of N.A. (SIU NA) Sealed Air Corporation Sealift, Inc. Secured Land Transport SEKO Logistics SkyLink Air & Logistic Support (USA) II, Inc. Southern Air Southwest Airlines Co. Teradata Corporation Textainer Equipment Management (U.S.) Limited Titan Services TQL Transportation Institute Transportation Intermediaries Assn. (TIA) Travelport Tri-State Motor Transit Co. (TSMT) TSA Transportation LLC TTX Company Tucker Company Worldwide, Inc. United Airlines United Van Lines, Inc. USA Jet Airlines USA Truck, Inc. UTi Aerospace and Defense Group Volga Dnepr Airlines Winston & Strawn LLP Women In Trucking Association, Inc. XPO Logistics

Columbia Helicopters, Inc. Crystal Forwarding Dalko Resources, Inc. DB Schenker DPRA, Inc. Enterprise Holdings Enterprise Management Systems Fox Rent A Car Hospitality Logistics International Hub Group, Inc. JAS Forwarding John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences Kalitta Charters, LLC Lineage Logistics LMJ International Logistics, LLC M/S Securlog (Private) Limited, Pakistan MacGregor USA, Inc. Madison Hospitality MCR Federal, LLC

Mi-Jack Products Miramar Transportation mLINQS, LLC Naniq Global Logistics LLC National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. NCI Information Systems, Inc. NFI North Carolina State Ports Authority Oakwood Worldwide Overdrive Logistics, Inc. Overwatch, Inc. (a division of Avalon Risk Management) Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Pak Shaheen Freighters (Pvt) Ltd. Patriot Contract Services, LLC Philadelphia Regional Port Authority PITT OHIO Port of Port Arthur

Portus Reckart Logistics, Inc. REUSA-WRAPS Reusable Logistics Solutions, LLC RST Freight Seatac Marine Services Southeast Vocational Alliance Staybridge Suites McLeanTysons Corner Hotel TechGuard Security Tennessee Steel Haulers The Cartwright Companies Trailer Transit, Inc Trans Global Logistics Europe GmbH TRI-STATE Expedited Service, Inc. UniTrans International, Inc. Wapack Labs Corporation YRC Freight

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Lodging, cont’d from pg. 9 es (85% of hotels), (3) protections from improper charges for non-reimbursed expenses (e.g., in room safe), and (4) avoidance of non-reimbursable portions of hotel rates above per diem.

Customer Satisfaction The Department implemented a customer satisfaction survey to better assess and improve the overall lodging experience. All travelers completing a Defense Travel System travel voucher and staying in a DOD Preferred commercial property are sent a customer satisfaction survey electronically—the response rate is 32 percent through December 2015. The survey asks travelers to evaluate their Integrated Lodging Pilot experience across four attribute areas: (1) assurance and reliability; (2) product/service quality; (3) customer interaction; and (4) overall experience. The attribute area results are “rolled-up” to produce an overall customer satisfaction rate for the program pilot. The results will be used for supplier management, sourcing requirements, and program improvements.

DOD government lodging is researching future inclusion in the customer satisfaction survey program.

WAY AHEAD

In March, the pilot program will expand again as it incorporates the ability to book public-private venture properties in the Defense Travel System. Public-Private venture lodging are formerly operated government lodging facilities, located on or near installations that are now operated commercially.

The Army’s Privitized Army Lodging (PAL) program is DOD’s primary program and Education, cont’d from pg. 23 tic arms, ammunition and explosives 2. Motor and rail large volume movements 3. Global freight management overview 4. Analytics – benefits to the organization 5. Seven steps to service acquisition Many sessions in 2015 were well received and are expected to return: 1. Transportation Policy 101 2. Certification Standards in Supply Chain Management 3. Update on the Center for Joint and Strategic Logistics 4. The Business of Logistics 5. Defense Cyber Crime Center 28 |

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will be integrated first into the Defense Travel System. Privatized Army Lodging properties are corporately branded as IHG Army Hotels, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, and Staybridge Suites.

If government lodging is not available at a location, the Defense Travel System will first

If government lodging is not available at a location, the Defense Travel System will first direct travelers to these privitized properties, before displaying DOD Preferred lodging or any other commercial properties. direct travelers to these privitized properties, before displaying DOD Preferred lodging or any other commercial properties.

The pilot is authorized to run through 2019 and DOD plans to add more locations this summer and many more along the way.

SUMMARY

The Integrated Lodging Program Pilot will provide valuable insight for sourcing and managing an enterprise-wide program; it is the genesis of a model for managing the Department’s future lodging requirements.

More information is available on the Defense Travel Management Office website at: http://www.defensetravel.DOD.mil/site/ lodging.cfm.

Learn more about the Integrated Lodging Program Pilot at the NDTA’s 2016 GovTravels Symposium being held March 29-31 at the Hilton Mark Center, Alexandria, VA. For more information, visit www.ndtahq.com/events/gov-travels. DTJ Stay in touch on NDTA’s new website for updates on instructors and topics for the 2016 University program. If your organization is interested in submitting a topic for presentation, please email me at ivarkonyi@ndtahq.com. DTJ 1 Dictionary.com

DTJ INDEX OF ADVERTISERS APL.................................................................. 1 ARC................................................................. 2 Bennett..........................................................C2 FedEx............................................................C4 Landstar........................................................C3 Schuyler Line Navigation Company (SLNC)..... 13

FEBRUARY 2016

The Wright Brothers

By Sharon Lo

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster, 2015) ISBN: 9781476728742, 368 pages, Hardcover $18.00, Nook $14.99.

F

ew people have had greater influence on modern transportation than Orville and Wilbur Wright. And while most people know the basic story of these two brothers from Ohio who are credited with inventing and building the world’s first airplane, The Wright Brothers

by David McCullough provides a much more personal and comprehensive account of their story.

Author, historian and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, McCullough painstakingly researched the Wright brothers including delving into a vast collection of private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and more than one thousand letters from private family correspondence. In addition, travel to sites relevant to their lives and interviews with people who knew them gave his research more depth.

As children the Wright brothers grew up without plumbing or electricity, but they always had plenty of books supplied by their preacher father. It was this variety of reading material that inspired a love of knowledge and a curiosity for many subjects. They entered into various endeavors as they got older including stints in printing and bicycle repair businesses, but it was a fascination with the idea of human flight that would ultimately become their lives’ work and the book indeed takes you through their entire lives.

As one would expect, there is a focus on the ten year period during which the Wright brothers developed the airplane and by all accounts the persistence of these two men is remarkable.

I selected this book because I thought it would be a good choice for NDTA’s readers due to its relevance to transportation. However, this interesting account of a journey that would change history and life as we all know it, is also a delightful tale of ingenuity and the American spirit that I think would inspire anyone. DTJ

DESIGNED TO RESPOND BUILT TO DELIVER

Landstar provides a broad range of unique capabilities and solutions for your most demanding transportation and logistics needs.

Safe. Reliable. Flexible. That’s the Landstar solution.

Whether it’s an entire Army Brigade Combat Team (BCT), AA&E, or humanitarian relief supplies, Landstar delivers. Our carriers can handle virtually anything that can move. Landstar is thoroughly experienced in responding to the specialized needs of local, state and federal governments, whether the move is domestic or overseas. We understand the need for accessibility, immediate response and on-time, safe delivery – and we have the technology and expertise to make it happen. Regardless of weight, size or sensitivity, we have the right equipment and the people who

know how to handle it. Landstar has long served the government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, with an outstanding performance and safety record.

Landstar is ready to put our vast resources to work for you. Just one phone call delivers access to complete over-the-road, expedited, air and logistics services through a network of more than 1,100 independent sales agent locations and more than 46,000 available truck capacity providers.

800-443-6808 | www.landstar.com www.ndtahq.com | 29

In the air, on land, and at sea.

We’re proud to serve those who serve. With access to more than 220 countries and territories, FedEx Express has the expertise and global connections to move your shipments quickly and reliably around the world.

FedEx. Solutions That Matter.®

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FEBRUARY 2016

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