Defense Transportation Journal

The Official Publication of the National Defense Transportation Association

April 2017

www.ndtahq.com

The Passenger Travel Issue

The GovTravels Symposium Infrastructure and the Future of Amtrak The US Open Skies Debate Exploring Virtual Reality in the Enterprise

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April 2017

FEATURES April 2017 • Vol 73, No. 2 PUBLISHER

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

Sharon Lo | sharon@ndtahq.com CIRCULATION MANAGER

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

The GovTravels Symposium

8-17

Infrastructure and the Future of Amtrak

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The US Open Skies Debate

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Exploring Virtual Reality in the Enterprise

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By Kimberly D. Woods and Dennis M. Lyons

By Partnership for Open & Fair Skies and U.S. Airlines for Open Skies

By Concur Labs

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER

Debbie Bretches

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER

DEPARTMENTS

Bonnie Coggin

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | Bill Wanamaker.................................................................. 6

ADVERTISING & PRODUCTION Carden Jennings Publishing Co., Ltd. Custom Publishing Division 375 Greenbrier Drive, Suite 100 Charlottesville, VA 22901 434-817-2000 x330 • F 434-817-2020

PRESIDENT’S CORNER | RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret.).......................................... 7 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | Irvin Varkonyi......................................................26 CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE.......................................................................................28 HONOR ROLL..................................................................................................29 BOOKSHELF IDEAS........................................................................................... 30 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS.................................................................................... 30

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.

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NDTA Headquarters Staff RADM Mark Buzby, USN (Ret.) President COL Jim Veditz, USA (Ret.) Senior Vice President, Operations Patty Casidy VP Finance 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 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 Archives are available at www.ndtahq.com/ media-and-publications/past-dtj-editions/ 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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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

By Bill Wanamaker, Executive Director, ATA Government Freight Conference bwanamaker@trucking.org

TRUCKING Finding a safe place to park, access rest rooms, rest and meet hours-of-service requirements is an increasingly difficult task for America’s 3.5 million commercially licensed drivers, even on a good day, making it a hot topic in trucking.

ATRI POSTS NEW TRUCK PARKING STUDIES

Finding a safe place to park, access rest rooms, rest and meet hours-of-service requirements is an increasingly difficult task for America’s 3.5 million commercially licensed drivers, even on a good day, making it a hot topic in trucking. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) posted two new truck parking studies on its website: Utilizing Truck GPS Data to Assess Parking Supply and Demand and A Comprehensive System for Assessing Truck Parking Availability. Both studies successfully demonstrated new approaches for identifying where additional truck capacity is needed and how delivering real-time information on parking availability to commercial drivers can improve their operational efficiency. The reports are available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.

CONGRESSIONAL BLACKLISTING REPEAL

Congress has repealed a regulation dubbed by the Obama administration the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” rule, which required companies to report any labor law violations or alleged violation in its past three years when bidding on any federal contract over $500,000. Critics nicknamed the rule the “blacklisting rule,” as they argued that it effectively “blacklisted” companies from procuring federal contracts. In addition, opponents said that such a rule was duplicative of existing federal suspension and disbarment rules.

Congress used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) as the means for reviewing and repealing the rule. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to review through an expedited legislative process new federal regulations issued by government agencies and overrule the regulation by passage of a joint resolution.

Following the repeal, American Trucking Associations’ Executive Vice President of Advocacy Bill Sullivan thanked Congress for what he called a “positive step toward injecting common sense into the regulatory process.

“The trucking industry is not opposed to sensible, data-supported regulations, but this rule was a prime example of a rushed, partisan and ill-conceived regulation that the CRA was designed to check on. We appreciate Congress stepping up and taking a leadership role in reversing this rule that could have unduly excluded carriers from earning contracts to move freight for the government,” Sullivan said. “We hope that this type of oversight signals the dawn of a new era of inclusive and data-driven regulations.”

STATE PATROL, NE TRUCKING ASSOCIATION, LAUNCH TROOPER IN A TRUCK PROGRAM

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Nebraska Trucking Association have started a new collaborative safety project called “Trooper in a Truck.” The statewide project is designed to identify and address unsafe driving behaviors in and around large Commercial Motor Vehicles. Troopers will ride in cabs of Commercial Motor Vehicles watching for unsafe driving behaviors, such as driving while texting, following too closely, speeding, and aggressive driving. When violations are observed, they will be called to a nearby Trooper in a marked patrol unit, who will stop the violator, and issue a citation or warning.

“Having eyes in Commercial Motor Vehicles allows us to see things we wouldn’t normally see from a marked patrol unit,” said Lieutenant Kurt Von Minden. “It’s also an invaluable tool to work with truckers to help tackle the issue of public safety on our roadways. We’re very grateful for the relationship we have with the trucking industry, and value their help.” DTJ

PRESIDENT’S CORNER Wild Washington RADM Mark H. Buzby, USN (Ret.) NDTA President & CEO

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s I am writing this, the staff is catching its breath after completing our second GovTravels meeting, this year co-hosted with the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) here in Washington.

Having DTMO come aboard as our official co-sponsor was a very strong signal to the industry that GovTravels speaks with authority, and is the only forum where interaction in a trusted environment occurs. My thanks to DTMO Director Bill Mansell for believing in our mission.

By all accounts GovTravels was a rousing success with more attendees, more sponsors, and more exhibitors in only its second year. More than 400 government and industry travel professionals attended three days of speakers, panels, meetings and breakouts addressing a wide range of issues, including the modernization and automation of travel systems. I think that one of the best measures of our success was that we signed up several new NDTA corporate members and over 20 individual members who attended and immediately experienced the value of our association. I expect next year’s event to be even bigger and better.

While I am talking about events, I can tell you that your NDTA staff and the US-

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TRANSCOM staff is hard at work with our commercial partners to finalize the program for this year’s Fall Meeting, which will return to the Union Station Hotel in St. Louis 1013 October 2017. Transportation Academy will again be a centerpiece of the event, and we believe that we have again lined up a great set of courses, seminars, and speakers. We are very pleased to announce that BNSF Railway has very generously agreed to bring its classic train again this year so that we can offer evening excursions as we did last year. We will open our online site for registration in May, so watch your email for the announcement and act fast to reserve your seat. They will go fast!

“Wild Washington”—it sure seems that way inside the Beltway these days as the new administration gets its sea legs and new faces begin to appear in leadership positions throughout the federal government. Fortunately for us in the defense transportation sector, two of the least contentious members of the new administration have been President Trump’s new Defense Secretary—retired Marine General Jim Mattis, and the new Transportation Secretary—Elaine Chao.

I was lucky enough to meet with Secretary Chao last month to discuss a number of topics related to the transportation industry and NDTA. I had the pleasure of reminding Ms. Chao that her association with NDTA goes back to the mid-90s when she participated on several NDTA-sponsored panels, and served on our Board periodically in her role as Deputy Maritime Administrator. I also extended an invitation to address us at the Fall Meeting in October, and she See Pres. Corner pg. 30

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GovTravels: The Symposium on Government Travel & Passenger Services

“Optimizing for Smarter Travel�

February 27-March 1, 2017 Alexandria, VA Photos by Cherie Cullen

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GovTravels Symposium Returns for a Second Year

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ore than 400 professionals and 150 organizations The 2017 symposium incorporated contributions representing the federal and state government travand feedback from the General Services Administration, el sector gathered February 27 to March 1, 2017, DTMO, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the second annual GovTravels symposium. and private industry. In total, GovTravels offered access to Held at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, presentations by significant speakers, discussions with travel GovTravels is the only event of its kind decision makers, educational breakwhere stakeholders in both government “GovTravels is a unique opportunity outs, and a full-fledged expo space. and the private sector can meet and to gain a better understanding of the Mansell provided expertise as a pancollaborate on regulations, technology, elist at GovTravels. Other distinguished challenges facing travel managers challenges and best practices in govgovernment speakers and panelists inacross the federal government ernment travel. This year, GovTravels cluded William H. Booth, Director of added the Defense Travel Management the Defense Human Resources Activity; and the travel industry, and to Office (DTMO), which oversees comTim Burke, Government-wide Category collaborate on solutions to meet mercial travel for the Department of Executive for Travel; Jonathan Mostowsthose challenges,” said William Defense, as an official co-sponsor. ki, Acquisition Strategist, Defense DigiMansell, Director of the Defense “GovTravels is a unique opportutal Service, an agency team of the US nity to gain a better understanding of Digital Service; and Gary Rasicot, ActTravel Management Office. the challenges facing travel managers ing Deputy Administrator of the TSA. across the federal government and the travel industry, and “I believe that we assembled a superb group of authorito collaborate on solutions to meet those challenges,” said tative speakers who rolled up their sleeves and had an acWilliam Mansell, Director of the Defense Travel Managetive dialog with the travel industry,” said Rear Admiral ment Office. “This event provides a relevant backdrop to (Ret.) Mark Buzby, NDTA’s President and CEO, “and I help inform the strategic direction of the Defense Travel know that they were anxious to hear what was on indusEnterprise as we consider new technologies and adopt aptry’s mind. This event was designed to facilitate that kind plicable industry best practices.” of exchange.”

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Government Travel Sits on the Cusp of Technological, Regulatory Change

By James M. Marconi Director of Public Relations, NDTA

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hat shape will the future of government travel take? guided DOD travel for decades. Over time the Department Eminent presenters from a broad cross-section of added various policies to solve specific problems, but those private industry and the federal government dispolicies eventually became unwieldy as a whole. cussed the contours of policy and technology February 28, “DTS [Defense Travel System] implements 1,396 pages 2017, the second day of the GovTravels 2017 symposium. of policy, plus another 200 pages of appendices. So really, GovTravels, returning for a second year, brought more than if you put all this stuff together, it’s more like 1,600 pages,” 410 passenger travel stakeholders said William Booth, Director of together for three days of governthe Defense Human Resources Part of the difference, too, in a government ment-industry meetings, highActivity. “In my view, it haptraveler’s experience is the technology behind pened because way back when, level speakers and panelists, and their trip. DOD’s Defense Travel System (DTS) 13 educational breakout sessions. it was a small amount of policy.

A pressing need for modernAnd then we had [travelers] do provides good service, but as a customization represents a challenge on something that was inappropridesigned system it inherently lacks the two fronts—technology and polate, and we put in something to flexibility to incorporate the private sector’s icy—said keynote speaker Jonamake sure that never happened than Mostowski, an acquisition rapid advances into a mobile-dominated world. again. And this repeated over the strategist for the Defense Digital course of decades. And now what Service, an agency team of the US Digital Service. There is you have in the Joint Travel Regulations is a document that a growing disparity between DOD travelers’ experiences in actually conflicts with itself in places. We’ve got to get the their personal lives and the systems they use for work. policy simpler, because if we go with the same policy, and “The reality is that technology in the federal government then modify any commercial engine to match, we’re right is not very good,” said Mostowski. “And the reason for that back at the same place.” is because most of the technology that we create doesn’t have Part of the difference, too, in a government traveler’s excompetition. And competition is really what drives things to perience is the technology behind their trip. DOD’s Debe better. As far as government systems go, our travel sysfense Travel System (DTS) provides good service, but as a tems are probably on the better end, believe it or not. They custom-designed system it inherently lacks the flexibility to actually work, people can actually do what the system is supincorporate the private sector’s rapid advances into a mobileposed to do…[but] the reality is travel systems are one of dominated world. those things that we use in the government and we use in our “If you can imagine 50 years of people writing for thempersonal life and it’s really obvious when one doesn’t work.” selves, not necessarily writing for the users, I think that puts perspective on the challenge we have,” said William Mansell, TRAVEL POLICY Director of the Defense Travel Management Office. “DTS is Part of that difference stems from the Joint Travel Regulareally not a bad system, but my experience with automated tions (JTR), the extensive compendium of policies that have systems is that the systems do what the business process codes

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tell them to do. So if you have complex policies, what does that tell you about the programming language within the system?

So that’s the challenge as I see it…On the other hand, where are we going, and what’s the opportunity? It’s really travel simplification. We’re willing to write the policy for the users and not for ourselves…That is manifested by the JTR rewrite.”

day, about a third of the business travelers under 35 book hotels and cars by mobile.

And then next year they’re talking about 500 million airline tickets that will be booked by mobile device. And so as we’re thinking about policies, and the decisions we’re going to make, and the systems that will then sit behind each of those—we have to think mobile.”

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY

CONCLUSION – THE WAY AHEAD

The future of travel, government or otherwise, is mobile. Travel products within airlines, hotels and others have developed a high degree of variation, providing travelers with more options. Better data science becomes essential to managing that expanding product diversity. At the same time, travelers’ expectations are changing with technological capabilities, so there are definite benefits to using a commercial system within the government framework.

DOD and the government more broadly are keenly aware of underlying shortcomings, Mostowski said. Indeed, the US Dig-

ital Service exists in part to drive a startup mentality, guided by data, within the highest levels of the federal government.

Ultimately, Mostowski contended, the government user’s travel experience can be improved by using commercial off-theshelf solutions for software as a service, investing in the data science that impacts travel, and, importantly, streamlining the JTR. Policy is, Mostowski said, something government must be willing to touch.

This admittedly difficult culture change is achievable, Mostowski said, with a dose of vision and tenacity.

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“You have a shift going on right now from Baby Boomers to Gen X and after.

Those folks have certain expectations, and they want their travel to be very reminiscent of what they see in their personal travel, not a complex system that may be built upon old technology,” said Marques TibbsBrewer, Regional Travel Executive – Federal for Concur. “How do you balance user experience with policy compliance? That’s where you really have to find a partner—really find a product—that allows you to do that. I don’t think there’s any [one] optimal COTS [commercial off-the-shelf ] product that just simply will meet your needs for the long term. You really have to grow with it.”

Bret Kidd, President – The Americas for Travelport, also highlighted travel’s rapid transition to mobile technologies.

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Government Executives Discuss Approaches to Travel

By James M. Marconi Director of Public Relations, NDTA

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nnovations in travel—and how to integrate them with government requirements—marked an overarching theme during GovTravels 2017. Developing technologies and practices have laid the groundwork for trends and opportunities in travel. Managing these new trends represents a challenge for top decision makers administering the needs of both travelers within the United States and US government travelers themselves.

On March 1, GovTravels’ final day, several of those government executives provided key insights into the evolution of government programs and approaches to travel.

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Gary Rasicot, the Acting Deputy Administrator of TSA, painted a picture of the agency’s commitment to serve the public and help them get safely from point A to point B. “Security is our middle name, literally. That’s what we do.

That’s our primary focus. And we do that through 60,000 of the most dedicated Americans you will ever see,” said Rasicot. “It’s a challenging job. It really is. Because every day we balance security with the facilitation of lawful commerce.”

To that end, TSA is examining the viability of multiple technologies to improve efficiency and security. These include the addition of 33 automated screening lanes—which better manage the flow of bins at security checkpoints and let transportation security officers focus on their jobs—at four airports, including Chicago O’Hare. TSA is also developing computed tomography technology for screening security checkpoints, not just at checked baggage, meaning that travelers might eventually be able to leave laptops and liquids in their carry-ons. While there are numerous technological and privacy hurdles, TSA is also investigating the use of biometric data to verify passengers’ identities.

“We stood up this innovation task force, looking at specific technologies and processes and doctrine changes that could make both the security mission better, but also the passenger experience,” said Steve Karoly, TSA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Requirements & Capabilities Analysis.

Rasicot also mentioned another conceptual idea, the Airport Operations Center, where key decision makers are brought together in a single space, with the aim of quickly and systematically responding to real emergencies, or working through false-alarm incidents like that at JFK last summer.

“If you have a mass casualty or some sort of event in a public space…[and] you can start making system-wide decisions within 10 minutes, you will either stop the incident, mitigate its effects, or significantly enhance the response,” Rasicot said.

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CATEGORY MANAGEMENT

Tim Burke, Government-wide Category Executive for Travel, also provided thoughts on category management and what it means for federal government travel.

The US government is the largest buyer in the world. Most of the time, Burke said, this means the federal government should get the best deals on its purchases, travel included.

That travel spending, in fact, is between $8-12 billion on an annual basis, according to some estimates. As a category manager, Burke aims to streamline government travel by harnessing the collective knowledge and activities of government travel professionals. This effort, in Burke’s view, means

unifying government expertise for smarter buying, addressing contract duplication and overlap, and improving small business participation in the government travel space.

“Being able to convert and synthesize good procurement decisions into spreading the taxpayers’ dollars to effectively support critical mission management is really the driver behind it,” Burke said. “Once you get engagement with the smart experts across government, you find the fortuitous outcomes that otherwise would not have taken place. So it’s busting down a little bit of the silos, but not sacrificing the unique requirements of an individual mission of an individual agency or group of agencies.”

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Infrastructure and the

Future of Amtrak

By Kimberly D. Woods, Amtrak Media Relations, and Dennis M. Lyons, Senior Officer, National & Government Accounts Photos courtesy Amtrak

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mtrak offers many benefits from free Wi-Fi, a generous baggage policy to freedom of movement while traveling. The Washington, DC, based company also offers government employees discount fares on travel along the Northeast Corridor.

The discount is available for passengers to travel between more than 70 stations using the Northeast Regional, daily service from Boston to Washington, DC, and the Keystone Service, daily service from New York City and Harrisonburg, Pennsylvania, with a stop in Philadelphia. Passengers may also use the discount on select Acela Express routes.

The Northeast Corridor, with 363 miles of Amtrak-owned infrastructure, is North America’s busiest railroad with 2,200 daily high-speed, commuter and freight trains.

The infrastructure was largely built more than 100 years ago, and after 45 years of service, many of Amtrak’s assets are at the end of their useful life.

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Wick Moorman, Amtrak President and CEO, discussed infrastructure investment during a Senate hearing in Washington, DC. He called for a new era of investment in Amtrak’s infrastructure, fleet, and stations, which are critical to the operations and future growth of passenger rail.

“The time is now to invest in our aging assets,” Moorman testified. “More than ever, our nation and the traveling public rely on Amtrak for mobility, but the future of Amtrak depends on whether we can renew the cars, locomotives, bridges, tunnels, stations and other infrastructure that allows us to meet these growing demands.”

Moorman noted in fiscal year 2016 Amtrak had record ridership of more than 31 million passengers and ticket revenues of $2.2 billion.

“We can get even better by relentlessly improving our safety culture, modernizing and upgrading our products and strength-

ening our operational efficiency and project delivery,” he said.

Moorman stressed Amtrak’s job is to deliver the services and run the network Congress and the Administration—the principal stakeholders—believe is worth the investment.

Noting Amtrak’s list of investment needs is long, but provides considerable benefits to the traveling public and the national economy, Moorman outlined projects that warrant significant investment including: Construction of the Portal North Bridge and new Hudson Tunnels, both parts of the larger Gateway Program that will ensure that 450 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit trains can continue to serve New York City from the south; Construction of new B&P Tunnel and Susquehanna Bridge in Maryland to expand service and improve trip-time; Expansion and improvement of Chicago and Washington Union Stations to im-

Government Rail Travel Discount

The Northeast Corridor is home to one of the busiest, most complex, and most technically advanced rail systems in the world, with more than 2,000 trains on Amtrak-controlled segments each weekday. This traffic mix includes freight trains traveling at speeds of 30-50 mph, commuter trains at speeds up to 125 mph, Amtrak Northeast Regional trains at 110 or 125 mph, and Acela Express trains that can reach 150 mph.

This makes it the fastest railroad in the Americas, and among the 10 fastest in the world.

Amtrak offers Department of Defense and civilian government employees discounted fares on business rail travel within the Northeast Corridor. Passengers can travel between more than 70 stations using the Northeast Regional and Keystone Service.

Amtrak also offers government fares on some Acela Express trains in the Northeast Corridor.

How do I book travel to get this discount?

It’s easy to stay connected on Amtrak. Trains carrying 91 percent of all Amtrak customers offer complimentary AmtrakConnect Wi-Fi.

prove accessibility, expand capacity, spur local development and enhance safety; Construction of a fleet of new or rebuilt diesel locomotives to support Amtrak’s national network; Construction of track, signaling, and other improvements to remove chokepoints on our host railroads or restore service in key underserved markets, like along the Gulf Coast.

Additionally, Moorman emphasized the importance of the 21 states and various commuter agencies that Amtrak partners

with to provide service on corridors across the country and on the Northeast Corridor.

He noted Amtrak is focused on identifying ways to work even more collaboratively with these states and agencies on the long list of important rolling stock, infrastructure, and funding needs.

Moorman urged Congress and the Administration to consider the many ways in which the federal government can advance intercity passenger rail service through direct investments, public-private partnerships and innovative financing, streamlining of the environmental review process and removal of red tape.

Moorman added such rail infrastructure investments not only help Amtrak better serve passengers, but also stimulate job growth in construction, manufacturing, and professional services. Rail cars, locomotives, steel, concrete, machinery, signals and track are sourced from across the nation.

“Investments in these sectors can help spur the rebirth of America’s passenger rail manufacturing and supply sector,” he said. DTJ

America’s Railroad® Amtrak, the national rail operator, connects America in safer, greener and healthier ways.

With 21,000 route miles in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day—at speeds up to 150 mph—to more than 500 destinations. Amtrak also is the operator of choice for state-supported corridor services in 15 states and for four commuter rail agencies.

Either your booking tool or your agency’s authorized Travel Management Company (TMC) are provided a corporate account number that is used to activate the discounted government travel fare. The corporate account number can only be applied by TMCs, or via your agency’s booking tool provided through CWTSato or Concur. Contact your travel office for details. Government discounted fares are not available through the Amtrak Contact Center, Amtrak.com, Amtrak Mobile, QuikTrak or Amtrak Ticket Offices.

What if I have to make a change while traveling?

Changes to travel within an existing reservation created via an approved channel are available via Amtrak Contact Center 1-800-USA-RAIL and Amtrak Ticket Offices. New reservations must be made via the approved booking channels.

Changes that result in additional charges must be approved per your agency policy.

Why should I choose Amtrak for my travel?

• Free Wi-Fi on Northeast Corridor trains.

• Electrical outlets at each seat allow you to work or relax.

• Generous baggage policy.

• Freedom of movement while traveling.

• Lounge Cars offer food and beverages.

• City center to city center service in most areas. Avoid the hassle, time and expense of parking and finding next step transportation to your destination.

• Quiet cars on each Northeast Corridor train.

• More seat and leg room.

For more information on the Government Rail Travel Discount, visit Amtrak.com/government-discount or contact AmtrakGovernmentTravel@Amtrak.com.

Government discount may not be booked on Amtrak.com.

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The US Open Skies Debate

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pen Skies agreements are bilateral, and sometimes multilateral, agreements negotiated between countries to provide rights for airlines to offer international passenger and cargo services. Over the last 25 years, the US has entered into Open Skies agreements with 120 countries. These agreements are considered pro-consumer, pro-competition, and pro-growth.

According to the US State Department, Open Skies “expand international passenger and cargo flights by eliminating government interference in commercial airline decisions about routes, capacity, and pricing, so airlines can provide more affordable, convenient, and efficient air service to consumers, promoting increased travel and trade, and spurring high-quality job creation and economic growth.

Open Skies agreements expand cooperative marketing opportunities between airlines, liberalize charter regulations, improve flexibility for airline operations, and commit both governments to high standards of safety and security. They also facilitate countless new cultural links worldwide.”

Recently, there has been a call by some US mainline carriers and other industry groups for the US govern­ ment to enforce its Open Skies agreements by working with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar to phase out subsidies they provide to their airlines in order to ensure a level playing field for US carriers. This has stirred up strong reactions in the industry, including reactions from those who say this could jeopardize the entire network of Open Skies agreements and undercut the US airline industry, and ultimately affect the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program, which provides mobility resources and capacity to the Department of Defense during contingencies and national emergencies.

Here’s what both sides have to say…

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| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

POINT From the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies The US airlines and labor unions that formed the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies are fighting to restore a level playing field for the American airline industry.

Over the last 10 years, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have provided more than $50 billion in subsidies and other unfair benefits to their state-owned carriers—Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways—in violation of our Open Skies agreements. These massive government subsidies harm not only the US airline industry and its workers, but the US economy and national security as well.

Protecting the health of the aviation sector, a critical component of our country’s infrastructure system, is important to our national security strategy. America’s commercial aviation network—a network that moves people, food, water, medicines, fuel and other commodities vital to our health, safety, and economic well-being—is a stra-

tegic, critical infrastructure asset, complementing and supporting other essential assets such as electrical grids, dams, hospitals, rail lines and utilities. In 1998, the Clinton Administration issued Presidential Decision Directive 63, which stressed the importance of protecting the aviation sector as a key component of the country’s critical infrastructure. In the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11, the Bush Administration took additional steps to further enhance policies to protect all national critical infrastructure components, including the transportation sector. External harm to the US carriers in the form of unfairly subsidized and unprofitable routes from Gulf airlines weakens national security by threatening to remove flights and destinations that are vital to maintaining this essential transportation network.

Gulf carriers are expanding at an exponential rate that far exceeds the demand for capacity. Since January 2015, the Gulf carriers have added or announced plans to increase flights into the US by 47 percent, and have become increasingly aggressive in adding new Fifth Freedom routes that are aimed squarely at undercutting US air-

lines. Just three days after President Trump took the oath of office, Emirates announced a new non-stop flight from Athens to Newark, without routing passengers through Dubai. This aggressive move, an abuse of our Open Skies agreement, is designed to push United Airlines out of the

The Gulf countries’ intentional violation of existing Open Skies agreements does harm to both the American economy and our nation’s defense capability. As these unfairly subsidized routes take more traffic and destinations away from US carriers, we lose the ability to service medium and small US destinations, and assist our armed forces in times of need. market. The Gulf carriers are only able to add and sustain unprofitable routes because they are massively subsidized by Gulf governments. Of the 23 routes operated by the Gulf carriers to the US in 2014,

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21

19 were unprofitable. Moreover, of the routes added or announced since 2015, more than half are estimated to have loss margins greater than 20 percent. Despite what the Gulf carriers claim, these routes are not creating new demand, but are instead feeding off the passengers of their fair playing competitors—data shows that following the most recent entry by a Gulf carrier into a market, passenger bookings for international itineraries on US carriers and their joint venture partners declined in Washington, DC, Orlando, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Gulf carriers’ scheme to take over international aviation puts in jeopardy 1.2 million jobs that depend on the US aviation industry.

This affects the US economy more broadly because threatening US carriers’ competitiveness on international routes negatively impacts the US domestic huband-spoke system upon which so many small and medium-sized communities and businesses rely. The hub-and-spoke system, which gained favor after airline deregulation in the 1970s, allows US airlines to offer commercially viable options for consumers traveling to or from smaller markets to larger centralized hubs.

By routing traffic to a hub, airlines can efficiently provide service

vide a truly interconnected international network plays an important role assisting our country’s Air Force during wartime or national emergencies. As part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), the primary US carriers have pledged aircraft to the Air Force for use when necessary. This program was established in 1951 under President Truman and is a critical asset of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command, providing extra aircraft in times of need.

During Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991, US airlines provided critical international passenger trips, executing 5,460 missions and transporting 726,000 passengers. In 2003, the Defense Department again activated the system for Operation Iraqi Freedom, utilizing 47 passenger aircraft. CRAF carriers flew more than 1,625 missions, moving 254,143 troops around the world, but primarily to the Middle East. The Open Skies policy explicitly recognizes “the importance of military and civil airlift resources being able to meet defense mobilization and deployment requirements in support of US defense and foreign policies.” Unfairly subsidized competition from Gulf carriers will force US carriers to give up international routes essential to this mission and could erode the US carrier wide-body fleet that is

to underserved airports in communities across the country.

The economic viability of many domestic routes depends critically on passengers from these smaller destinations flowing onto long haul international flights—therefore, losing international routes to the Gulf carriers threatens the entirety of the US domestic flight structure, a critical component of the US economy.

Furthermore, US carriers’ ability to pro-

a crucial component of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.

The Gulf countries’ intentional violation of existing Open Skies agreements does harm to both the American economy and our nation’s defense capability. As these unfairly subsidized routes take more traffic and destinations away from US carriers, we lose the ability to service medium and small US destinations, and assist our armed forces in times of need. No one

US OPEN SKIES PARTNER COUNTRIES Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan

22

Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Bonaire Bosnia & Hezegovina Botswana Brunei Bulgaria

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Chad Chile Colombia Cook Islands

Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark El Salvador Equatorial Guinea

Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana

appreciates the benefits that Open Skies agreements bring to airlines, passengers and the US economy more than the US carriers—and of the US’s 120 agreements, the Partnership is only raising issues with two. With these two cases, it is imperative that the US government ensures that Gulf carriers compete on an equal playing field—we cannot risk irreparable damage to one of our nation’s most vital economic and security resources.

COUNTERPOINT From U.S. Airlines for Open Skies U.S. Airlines for Open Skies (USAOS) is a coalition of four US passenger and cargo carriers—Atlas Air Worldwide, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, and JetBlue Airways—that support maintaining the global framework of the United States’ Open Skies agreements. This framework supports US jobs, reduces costs for airline passengers, facilitates US exports, strengthens our national security, and promotes competition in the airline industry.

During the last three decades, under the leadership of both Republican and Democratic Administrations, the United States has negotiated Open Skies agreements with more than 100 countries around the world. These agreements eliminate government interference in commercial decisions about the routes, frequency, pricing, and capacity of airline service, both passenger and cargo. They also assure the ability of all US airlines to create comprehensive in-

Greece Guatemala Guyana Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland

Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Korea Kuwait Laos

ternational networks. Open Skies thus allows airlines to deliver more efficient and cost-effective service to American consumers, businesses and the US government, including the military.

Regrettably, three large legacy US airlines (“legacy carriers”) are making demands that would jeopardize Open Skies and reduce competition in an already overly concentrated US airline market. Specifically, they are asking the US government to freeze access to US routes for airlines from two US Open Skies partners—the United Arab Emirates (Emirates and Etihad) and Qatar (Qatar Airways). The legacy carriers claim such action is a justified response to alleged subsidies the foreign carriers have received from their home governments, which the legacy carriers assert breach our Open Skies agreements.

But, it is important to understand that Gulf airlines are not unique among global carriers in the assistance they receive from their home governments. US airlines, particularly the legacy carriers, have been the beneficiaries of direct and indirect government subsidies. They include the exception of the legacy carriers and their foreign partners from US antitrust laws and lenient bankruptcy laws that have allowed all the legacy carriers to reorganize their operations and receive indirect subsidies through filing for Chapter 11. In addition, the United States prohibits foreign enterprises from owning a controlling share in US passenger airlines, a rule that is not found in many other countries and that limits competition and protects US airlines’ revenues in the richest aviation market in the world. If the United States is going to invoke Open Skies over subsidies, it must be prepared to defend its own practices.

The only part of the Open Skies agreements that provides any remedy against subsidies is one that allows a government

Latvia Liberia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malaysia Maldives Mali

Malta Montenegro Morocco Namibia Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway

Oman Pakistan Panama Paraguay Peru Poland Portugal Qatar Romania

to intervene if a foreign airline is charging “artificially low” fares. The legacy carriers completely ignore this provision; they do not even allege much less prove that the Gulf carriers are charging such fares. Moreover, when the US govern-

In addition, claims by the legacy carriers that they have been injured by the Gulf carriers are unsupported by the facts. Contrary to their claims of job loss, the legacy carriers have hired more than 12,000 new employees during the last four years. Meanwhile, their operating profits have reached record levels, nearly tripling on average since 2007. ment asked the legacy carriers to name a specific breach of Open Skies, they failed to identify a single provision. Thus, the legacy carriers have not established that the alleged subsidies, even if assumed to be true, breach Open Skies. It is also telling that they have not pursued the established dispute settlement procedures under the Open Skies agreements and those administered by the Department of Transportation.

By contrast, freezing US routes would indisputably breach Open Skies, harm US airline passengers, and endanger US jobs. It would reduce competition not only on international routes where the legacy carriers and their joint venture partners already predominate but also in the domestic market by stemming the flow of passengers into the United States that has enabled smaller US airlines to expand service and compete with the legacy carriers. It would also endanger the global networks of US cargo airlines that deliver high-value US exports and

Rwanda Saba Samoa Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Eustatius

Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sri Lanka Saint Christopher and Nevis Suriname Sweden

vital supplies for the US military around the world.

Furthermore, this action would not only reduce the number of foreign passengers arriving in the United States, with the attendant economic harm, but also likely provoke the UAE and Qatar to impose their own caps on US airlines.

Such retaliation would mean serious harm to US airlines and could impede US exports and disrupt supply chains, as well as cause significant delays in the transportation of essential supplies for the US military. Moreover, the action proposed by the legacy carriers could prompt other US Open Skies partners to assert subsidy claims against American carriers and raise questions in the minds of existing and future partners about the US commitment to Open Skies.

In addition, claims by the legacy carriers that they have been injured by the Gulf carriers are unsupported by the facts. Contrary to their claims of job loss, the legacy carriers have hired more than 12,000 new employees during the last four years.

Meanwhile, their operating profits have reached record levels, nearly tripling on average since 2007.

An international review of airline subsidies may well be in order. But such a review should involve all relevant countries and consider all forms of governmental support. This approach is consistent with the longstanding US policy of negotiating subsidies rules in multilateral fora, for example, the World Trade Organization, and not through bilateral arrangements, which would give non-participating countries an unfair advantage. This policy should apply equally to aviation, where the market is global and many governments provide various forms of financial support.

The demands of the legacy carriers must be rejected to protect the invaluable Open Skies network that has served our country so well. DTJ

Switzerland Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Uganda

Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom* Uruguay Uzbekistan Yemen Zambia

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23

EXPLORING

VirtuAl ReAlity IN THE ENTERPRISE

By Concur Labs | Photos courtesy Concur

C

hatbots, bots, mobile devices—think of how dramatically these new forms of media are transforming the way we conduct business, and disrupting entire industries. Currently we’re at the brink of a new frontier: Virtual Reality (VR).

You may think of virtual reality as a platform for play or games, but there’s an entire realm of possibilities for businesses.

Imagine virtual reality conferences, design collaborations, or remote office visits.

There’s already investigations into how surgeons could use virtual reality for patient anatomy or how teams could design products virtually.

As part of our ongoing research, Concur Labs spent the past few months understanding what virtual reality could do for business travelers. Concur Labs, a new effort for Concur, is about exploring ideas and building prototypes based on Concur Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Our charter is to surface innovations and look at problems differently, of24

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

ten combining technologies in novel ways to enhance the life of a business traveler.

We take a lean, iterative approach to development, often creating a first prototype in less than 24 hours. We’re always looking for interesting integrations with other applications, services and products and have worked with Microsoft, Slack, Amazon, Ford, Uber, SITA and other Concur partners. Internally, we collaborate with engineers, product managers and designers across the company to build new concepts.

The Labs team’s investigation into VR started with a design sprint and a series of brainstorms. Ultimately, we built a demo showing how Global Security Managers could use virtual reality to help business travelers in a crisis, in this case, an earthquake.

VIRTUAL REALITY DEMO: How Global Security Managers Help Business Travelers in a Crisis

How does the demo work? It starts with Global Security Managers who focus on

providing “Duty of Care” for employees who travel. Duty of Care, as you might guess, is industry standard for ensuring the security and safety of employees on the road.

The demo immerses you in a life-like, Duty of Care situation: You’re a Global Se-

The demo immerses you in a life-like, Duty of Care situation: You’re a Global Security Manager responsible for the safety of thousands of employees. Now you’re confronted with an earthquake and need to determine which business travelers are impacted and how to get them back to safety. curity Manager responsible for the safety of thousands of employees. Now you’re confronted with an earthquake and need to determine which business travelers are impacted and how to get them back to safety.

The 3D simulation, inspired by the Concur Risk Messaging service, enables you to: • Access up-to-the-minute news and social media about what’s happening with the earthquake that’s now triggered a tsunami. See the latest information, like the projected tsunami path, to help determine who to notify.

• Get an instant view of which travelers are on-site or traveling to the affected region, and find detailed contact information on each employee.

• Communicate immediately by sending one- or two-way messages and updates to travelers, and enable them to request help in real-time.

Concur customers recently had the chance to explore the demo firsthand at Fusion, Concur’s annual customer event.

At first, customers didn’t know what to expect. But, once they put on the VR glasses and were immersed in the 3D setting, the responses were near exuberant. We heard comments like, “this is the coolest experience I’ve ever had,” or “I’ve never seen anything like this before” to just plain “wow.”

WAIT A SEC: Exactly How Does Virtual Reality Work?

Virtual reality combines software and hardware to give you the experience of entering a new environment or setting.

By using sensors, sound, imagery, and 3D environments, virtual reality immerses you in a lifelike situation you control with the movement of your body.

It also offers a 360-degree experience, with a vast amount of screen space, so a large volume of visual information can be quickly communicated. This opens up a

host of possibilities for businesses or enterprises relying on collaboration or sharing of visual information.

With new gear coming out from HTC, Microsoft, and Oculus (Facebook) we believe resolutions will likely improve and the overall experience is bound to mature rapidly over the coming years. It’s a new frontier.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS PROJECT?

The VR demo is not an upcoming service or planned for beta at this time. Concur Labs created the VR experience to demonstrate how nascent technologies could benefit customers and encourage future thinking. The

early positive customer response is a signal that VR has real potential in the enterprise sector. However, at this point, VR’s unique combination of software and hardware is not commonly used in workplaces—not yet, at least. The technology also needs to mature at least one or two generations before we can bring anything to market. But, Concur will keep building our knowledge and expertise for future possibilities, and continue exploring and investigating new ways to tap into this growing trend.

To find out more about work being done at Concur Labs, visit us online at concurlabs.com. DTJ

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Challenge of Attracting Young Talent to the Department of Defense Irvin Varkonyi, President, SCOPE Consulting ivarkonyi@scopedu.com

T

he world of government employment has been in turmoil, to say the least, since the Great Recession of 2008-09, when the Obama Administration entered office. Employment in the Department of Defense has been even more volatile with the onset of sequestration in 2011. Add to this the “graying” of the labor force in Government with pending retirements of baby boomers, sending alarms through agencies with the loss of human resources.

What then is the solution to maintaining sufficient resources for DOD? Take off the shackles of sequestration and step up recruiting efforts. This is needed to maintain force limits with active duty military and replace retiring workers with a younger generation. Unfortunately, if the experience of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Education’s Office of Mathematics and Governor’s Schools is an indication, then government, including the military, will experience a failure to attract exceptional talent. As our colleague, Sandra Erwin of National Defense magazine noted in a recent article, “One hundred high-school academic superstars in the Hampton Virginia area were asked if any of them would consider a career at the Newport News naval shipyard or saw themselves pursuing any career related to the military. Not a single hand went up!”1 NASA BEATS DOD TO THE PUNCH

These high achievers, noted Erwin, had worked on NASA projects at Wallops Island and other engineering and medical research. These students accomplished a great deal in the NASA program. The coordinator of the program, Donna Poland, was “horrified when not a single student seemed even remotely enthusiastic about defense oriented careers.”

Warnings have been loud and clear from DOD leadership including outgoing Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, a Ph.D. and accomplished scientist who had launched 26

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

“force of the future” personnel reforms and talent management efforts. His tenure as SecDef was short, leaving after a couple of years in office during the transition with the Trump administration. DOD can learn from the NASA program, with an emphasis on high schools and universities that guide students into STEM (Science Technology

The image of government may just be too stodgy or difficult to enter to attract them. Perhaps misconceptions about the lack of technology within the DOD world may also hurt the defense industry. How does DOD and its contractors compete with careers at Amazon, Uber or Facebook?

Engineering Mathematics) studies and careers. Poland stated, “…the defense industry is in denial about its capacity and lack of strategy to recruit talent in STEM fields.”

The ever present misperception by young people that a career in the Department of Defense means joining the military continues for many. Associations like NDTA, as well as the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), have sought to encourage university students to consider civilian careers in DOD. The NDTA Washington, DC chapter, like other chapters, has an annual Scholarship Auction to raise funds for scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate levels for those studying transportation and logistics. NDTA headquarters also offers scholarships (please go online at www.ndtahq.com for information). These programs are meant to not only encourage the study of transportation and logistics, but also to incentivize students to consider defense careers.

The NDIA also offers university students complimentary registration to its annual Logistics Division conference. Young civil-

ians embarking on careers in defense are also guided to this program. Industry or government mentors are assigned to these students.

NDIA has had measurable success with these students’ experiences including being aggressively recruited by defense contractors.

DOD representatives at these meetings have not been as successful in attracting these students. Explanations could be a perceived lack of a recruitment strategy, as well as cost pressures to downsize the military. NDTA has had some outreach to students at the 2016 Fall Meeting primarily with universities who were exhibiting at NDTA. NASA has been far more adept in reaching out to these high schoolers, states Erwin and Poland who were “… really impressed with how NASA made sure their grants and educational research are happening at the K-12 level. NASA outreach begins in kindergarten with coloring books and continues all the way to internships in high school. They mentor, they expose students to opportunities. That makes a difference.”

Many students aren’t aware of the world of defense contractors unless family members work there. When there is zero exposure within an industry, it’s unlikely that these young people will have the opportunity to aspire for these careers. The image of government may just be too stodgy or difficult to enter to attract them. Perhaps misconceptions about the lack of technology within the DOD world may also hurt the defense industry. How does DOD and its contractors compete with careers at Amazon, Uber or Facebook?

LOCKHEED MARTIN ATTRACTS YOUNG TALENT TO NON-WEAPONS DIVISIONS

This is not to say there has not been success in attracting any talent to defense contractors. Lockheed Martin, states Erwin, See Prof. Devel. pg. 30

CUT AT LINE & MAIL OR FAX TO: National Defense Transportation Association | 50 S. Pickett St., Suite 220, Alexandria, VA 22304-7296 | (FAX) 703-823-8761

Costs are minimal, but the rewards are great! >> Contact NDTA for more information at 703-751-5011 or visit www.ndtahq.com <<

NDTA MEMBERSHIP

Maybe you know someone who would like to join. The National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA) is a non-political and non-profit educational Association composed of government, military, and industry professionals dedicated to fostering a strong and efficient global transportation and logistics system in support of national security. Membership in NDTA affords opportunities to serve and educate the community in your area of expertise as well as other special benefits.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP 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 logistics, transportation, travel and distribution system is the target market.

Corporate membership will offer your team the opportunity to be a part of the discussion and share ideas with top military, government, their execution teams, and industry leaders—the individuals who are setting and influencing the transportation, travel and distribution agenda for today and the future.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Position/Title Organization

Name

Mailing Address

Position/Title

City

State Zip

Organization

Work Phone

Email

Mailing Address

Birth Date

Chapter Affiliation

City

Sponsor

Work Phone

Membership Type

Fax

Life $450.00

State Zip Email

Membership Type

Regular – 3 Years $150.00 Military/Government – 3 Years $135.00 Regular – 1 Year $55.00

Chairman’s Circle Plus (global or national company with multiple operating entities)

Military/Government – 1 Year $50.00

Chairman’s Circle (global or national operating company)

Young Leaders (under 35 years of age) $40.00

Sustaining Member (national or regional operating company)

Retired (not gainfully employed) $40.00

Regional Patron (small business or local operating company)

Student $20.00

Amount Remitted $______________________

Amount Remitted $______________________

Donation to the Foundation $______________________

Donation to the Foundation $______________________

Check #_________

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Signature

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27

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 President Lines, Ltd. + PLUS American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier + PLUS Amtrak + PLUS Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings + PLUS Bennett Motor Express, LLC + PLUS Boyle Transportation, Inc. + PLUS Concur Technologies, Inc. + PLUS Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC + PLUS Crowley Maritime Corp. + PLUS FedEx + PLUS Final Mile Logistics + PLUS Freeman Holdings Group + PLUS Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC + PLUS Innovative Logistics, LLC + PLUS Intermarine, LLC - US Ocean + PLUS International Auto Logistics + PLUS Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics + PLUS Landstar System, Inc. + PLUS Leidos + PLUS Liberty Global Logistics-Liberty Maritime + PLUS Maersk Line, Limited + PLUS National Air Cargo + PLUS Norfolk Southern Corporation + PLUS Omni Air International + PLUS Panalpina World Transport Ltd. + PLUS Schuyler Line Navigation Company LLC + PLUS Senator International Freight Forwarding LLC + PLUS TOTE, Inc. + PLUS United Airlines + PLUS Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. + PLUS Western Global Airlines + PLUS ArcBest Best Western International BNSF Railway Bristol Associates CEVA Logistics Choice Hotels International CSX Transportation Echo Global Logistics, Inc. 28

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

Global Logistics Providers LLC International Shipholding Corporation La Quinta Inns & Suites Matson Navigation Company Inc. National Air Carrier Association Portus

R & R Trucking SAIC Sealift, Inc. The Pasha Group Tri-State Motor Transit Co. (TSMT) U.S. Bank Union Pacific Railroad UPS

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, Inc. Accenture Federal Services Admiral Merchants Motor Freight, Inc. Advantage Rent A Car Air Transport International, Inc. Airlines for America Alabama Motor Express, Inc. Al-Hamd International Container Terminal American Group LLC American Maritime Officers American Moving & Storage Association American Trucking Associations Army & Air Force Exchange Service Arven Freight Forwarding Arven Services, LLC Associated Global Systems Atlas World Group International ATS Specialized, Inc. Avis Budget Group aVolt Incorporated Baggett Transportation Company Benchmarking Partners, Inc. Bertling Logistics Inc. Boeing Company Bollore Logistics BOSS Engineered Logistics C.L. Services, Inc. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group REGIONAL PATRONS ACME Truck Line Agile Defense, Inc. Alaska Marine Lines Alaska West Express Amyx C5T Corporation CakeBoxx Technologies Cargo Experts Corp.

Cartwright International Cavalier Logistics Ceres Terminals Incorporated CGM-NV a NovaVision Company

Chalich Trucking, Inc. CWT SatoTravel DAMCO Daybreak Express Delta Air Lines DHL Express Eagle Freight, LLC Engility Corporation Enterprise Holdings Erickson Incorporated Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Europcar Car & Truck Rental Eurpac Evanhoe & Associates, Inc. Executive Moving Systems, Inc. Extended Stay America Hotels FlightSafety International GE Aviation General Dynamics/American Overseas Marine GeoDecisions Greatwide Truckload Management Green Valley Transportation Corp.

Hertz Corporation Hilton Worldwide Hybrid Enterprises IBM Intercomp Company Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), AFL-CIO International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots

Keystone Shipping Co. KGL Holding KROWN1 FZC Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. LMI Logistic Dynamics, Inc. Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association Marriott International Martin Logistics Incorporated Mayflower Transit McCollister’s Transportation Systems, Inc. Mercer Transportation Company Meridian Global Consulting LLC National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. National Van Lines, Inc. Northern Air Cargo Inc. Northern Neck Transfer Inc. Omega World Travel Omnitracs, LLC One Network Enterprises, Inc. Oracle ORBCOMM PGL Pilot Freight Services PODS Port of Beaumont Port of San Diego Ports America Pratt & Whitney Preferred Systems Solutions, Inc. Prestera Trucking, Inc.

Priority Solutions International Priority Worldwide Services Ramar Transportation, Inc. Roadrunner Transportation Systems Sabre Travel Network Savi SBA Global Logistic Services Seafarers International Union of NA , AGLIW Sealed Air Corporation SEKO Aerospace & Aviation Skylease 1, Inc. Southwest Airlines Teradata Corporation Textainer Equipment Management (U.S.) Limited Transcor Transportation Institute Transportation Intermediaries Assn. (TIA) Travelport TSA Transportation LLC TTX Company Tucker Company Worldwide, Inc. United Van Lines, Inc. USA Jet Airlines USA Truck, Inc. Wapack Labs Corporation Women In Trucking Association, Inc. XPO Logistics - Supply Chain

Chassis King, Inc. Columbia Helicopters, Inc. Dalko Resources, Inc. DB Schenker DPRA, Inc. DTI Enterprise Management Systems HLI Government Services JAS Forwarding John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences Kalitta Charters, LLC Kansas City Southern Lineage Logistics

LMJ International Logistics, LLC MacGregor USA, Inc. Madison Hospitality MCR Federal, LLC mLINQS Move One Logistics Naniq Global Logistics LLC NFI Oakwood Worldwide Overdrive Logistics, Inc. Overwatch, Inc. (a division of Avalon Risk Management) Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association

Patriot Contract Services, LLC Philadelphia Regional Port Authority PITT OHIO Port Canaveral Port of Port Arthur Radisson Resort At The Port Seatac Marine Services Staybridge Suites McLean-Tysons Corner Hotel TechGuard Security Trans Global Logistics Europe GmbH Ultimate Air FZ LLC (Central Asia Development Group Inc) YRC Freight

www.ndtahq.com |

29

Hacked Again Hacked Again by Scott N. Schober (ScottSchober.com Publishing, 2016, ISBN 978-0996902212, 202 pages, Paperback $12.70, Kindle $9.99)

C

yber warfare has become a very real part of our business, our government, our technology and our culture. Cyber attacks have increased exponentially in recent years and the fear of them continues to grow. Still, many of us do not incorporate simple, best practices when it comes to things like creating passwords or engaging with social media.

Berkeley Varitronics Systems is a 40-year-old provider of advanced wireless solutions for the telecommunications and security markets. Its President and CEO Scott Schober has become a trusted expert that corporations and individuals turn to when it comes to understanding cyber security issues and what needs to be done to keep personal information safe.

Schober regularly appears on Good Morning America, Bloomberg, CCTV, CBS News and CNBC as a technology and cyber security expert, with numerous

Cont’d from Prof. Devel. pg. 26 has won numerous awards for its educational initiatives. Executives at the nation’s biggest contractor acknowledge that young people are attracted to Lockheed, but to divisions that are unrelated to weapons such as space exploration, geolocation technology, renewable energy and more.

While STEM programs have had success, it has not been nearly enough to attract more US citizens. Lockheed by itself hires some five percent of the entire US born engineering graduates. The opportunities for non-US born graduates of US university engineering programs has been in decline as Homeland Security priorities and immigration constraints have greatly reduced the ability of such students to stay after graduation and work in the US, especially in the defense industry. Thus US universities are training these engineering students for work needed by the nation, 30

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

appearances on Fox Business Channel, Al Jazeera America, Fox News, Inside Edition, MSNBC, CNN, PIX11, The Blaze, OAN and more.

This respected cyber security expert and industry go-to man was there from the beginning of the Target hacking and witnessed the chaos and turmoil a cyber attack of this magnitude can inflict on a business. Lax security standards led to the breach which prompted Target to commit $100 million to technical upgrades.

And Target wasn’t the only corporate giant to take a hit—so did Nieman Marcus, Adobe, Yahoo, Michaels, and hospitality industry leader White Lodging.

Schober’s new book, Hacked Again: It Can Happen to Anyone Even a Cyber Security Expert, follows his personal journey as a cyber hacking victim. His company was hacked multiple times and he wrote the book to help others prevent such an event from happening to them.

The book is divided into four parts: Part one is the tale of what happened to Schober’s company; in part two he shares best practices for protecting information; part three is aimed at helping you stay safe in the continually changing digital world; and part four discusses noteworthy breaches. Since a cyber attack could happen to anyone at any time, this book is relevant for everyone and worth a read. DTJ

but who leave to seek to work outside the US, perhaps with firms competing with US-based firms.

What are the options available to the defense industry? Reach out to the K-12 students. Reach out to university students.

Reduce the complexity of government hiring. Sponsor DOD-related research.

Work with DHS and Congress on keeping foreign born STEM students in the US. Certainly security and clearance considerations play a role in such hiring, but losing young people to non-defense careers has a negative impact on defense.

Do you have a success story recruiting young, emerging professionals to government or defense contracting? Please share them with the author, ivarkonyi@scopedu. com. DTJ

1 Erwin, S. I. (2017, February). Defense Industry at Risk of Losing the Future. National Defense, p. 6.

Cont’d from Pres. Corner pg. 7 indicated that she would love to do so and would do her best to make that happen.

A central part of our discussion revolved around the three principal areas of focus that she has set for the Department of Transportation during her tenure: ensuring the safety of the transportation system and safety of the people using it; rebuilding and modernizing the national transportation infrastructure in alignment with President Trump’s initiative; and introducing and integrating emerging technologies into our transportation system.

Secretary Chao is very keenly aware of the importance that our national transportation system plays in our ability to mobilize forces, and to support the Defense Transportation Enterprise writ large. I walked out of her office with a strong sense that defense transportation will be a prominent consideration in her decision making process regarding infrastructure improvements. Time will tell, and hopefully we will hear more from her in person in October in St. Louis.

A final bit of business—it has already been three years since we last elected officers for the Association, and per our By-laws, it is time to do it again at this year’s Fall Meeting.

At our most recent Board of Directors meeting in February, NDTA Board Chairman Bill Flynn officially announced the formation of the nominating committee that will be accepting nominations through June 1, 2017 for all Board of Directors positions (Chairs, Vice Presidents, Regional Presidents, Vice Presidents at Large). If you are interested in serving, continuing to serve, or nominating someone else to serve, please notify us here in the office (Rebecca@ndtahq.com) so we can compile all the nominees and prepare the slate. Your Association needs your energy!

Yours aye, Mark H. Buzby

DTJ INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Alabama Motor Express.......................................7 American President Lines, Ltd............................31 American Roll-on Rolll-off Carrier (ARC)...............4 Amtrak................................................................2 Avis Budget Group.............................................21 Bennett Motor Express, LLC...............................11 Concur Technologies, Inc....................................25 Evanhoe & Associates, Inc..................................13 FedEx Government Services...............................32 Landstar Transportation Logistics, Inc..................9 Marriott International...........................................3

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| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2017

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