Defense Transportation Journal

The Official Publication of the National Defense Transportation Association

April 2018

www.ndtahq.com

THE TRAVEL ISSUE NDTA’s Passenger Travel Services Committee: Forward Focused DTMO Awarded Best-in-Class Designation La Quinta Inns & Suites Embraces Military Community Plus, Highlights From GovTravels 2018

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April 2018

FEATURES April 2018 • Vol 74, No. 2 PUBLISHER

NDTA’S PASSENGER TRAVEL SERVICES 9 COMMITTEE: FORWARD FOCUSED Interview with Tina Grace

VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret.) MANAGING EDITOR

Sharon Lo | sharon@ndtahq.com

DTMO AWARDED BEST-IN-CLASS DESIGNATION 12

By Betsey Grundy

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

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER

Debbie Bretches

LA QUINTA INNS & SUITES EMBRACES 14 MILITARY COMMUNITY WITH HOLISTIC ENTERPRISE-WIDE INITIATIVE

By Cheryl Endres

THE 2018 GOVTRAVELS SYMPOSIUM 16

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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

DEPARTMENTS LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES | Joe Thornell, Sr........................................................ 6 PRESIDENT’S CORNER | VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret.)....................................... 7 COUNTDOWN TO 75 | Lori Leffler & COL Dennis Edwards, USA (Ret.)............................. 8 NDTA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | COL Rod Mallette, USA (Ret.)........................................24 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | Irvin Varkonyi......................................................27 CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE.......................................................................................28

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.

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

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We encourage contributions to the DTJ and our online publication, The Conduit. To submit an article or story idea, please see our guidelines at https://www.ndtahq.com/media-and-publications/submitting-articles/. www.ndtahq.com |

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NDTA Headquarters Staff VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret.) President & CEO COL Jim Veditz, USA (Ret.) Senior VP Operations Patty Casidy VP Finance Lee Matthews VP Marketing and Corporate Development Leah Ashe Manager, Database Kimberly Huth 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 to members on www.ndtahq.com.

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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LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES Where Do Leadership and Customer Service Intersect?

By Joe Thornell, Sr. Contributor, generalleadership.com

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here was an explosion of extremely poor customer service in 2017. By far, the greatest level of poor performance was accomplished by the airline travel segment which forcefully extracted a paying customer from an airplane to make room for a non-revenue-generating employee and a gate agent who was rude/obnoxious to a female paying customer and who also came dangerously close to hitting her infant with a baby stroller. There was also the case of the frozen rabbit, and the pilot intervention into a customer brawl.

The airline industry has volunteered to be front and center in these displays of very weak customer service, but they do not have the corner on the market. Remember that Wells Fargo opened accounts in their customer’s names that they did not ask for and that Volkswagen falsified testing data to make their automobiles more attractive to their customers. All of this begs the question, “where does leadership intersect with customer service?”

Of late, it appears the role of leadership in these events has been to publicly admit their mistake, assume responsibility, and often lose their job. Is that what leadership is about with regards to customer service?

From simply a definition perspective, in businessdictionary.com, leadership is establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with others so they will follow willingly, providing the information, knowledge, and methods to realize that vision, and coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders. Leadership is also stepping into the breech when failure happens and accepting responsibility and fixing the issue going forward.

From the same source, the definition of customer service is all interactions between a customer and a product provider at the time of the sale and thereafter. Customer service adds value to a product and builds enduring relationship.

Sometimes just relearning the definitions helps a leader refocus and engage their workforce to fix a broken or off-track process such as customer service. Hopefully, the companies mentioned above have undergone a significant emotional event through these experiences and come out the other side better prepared, trained, and more customer-focused.

Customer service is a big deal in the 21st century and leaders need to use these recent events to ensure the organizational vision is known and understood by all employees.

Do all employees know how serious the company is about their customers? I often told my workforce that the “customer is King” to reinforce the value of the customer to our organization and mission. There is great value in sharing the realities of what a negative event has on a company’s financial picture, brand recognition, and post-event performance. In the 2017 customer service world, every customer has ready access to video, the media is spring-loaded to sensationalize all negative events, and social media is moving at the speed of light to share these negative interactions. A company can be severely damaged if not ruined completely in this 21st century communications, media, and customer service environment.

All leaders should take these recent nonexamples to heart, capture the learning, and reengage their organization’s customer service environment. This is a time for hands-on leader action to make sure your company is not the next sensation and to ensure your workforce knows the expectations. We recently flew on Delta Airlines and witnessed a marked change since flying with them just a couple of months earlier. We noticed renewed energy, awareness, and clearly effective tactical engagement from the pilot, crew, and gate personnel.

Our pilot came back to the cabin during deplaning and made eye contact with every passenger while overtly thanking them for choosing Delta for their travel experience.

What are you the leader doing with customer service today? Are you using these recent learning examples to ensure your customer service focus is where it needs to be? DTJ This article was first published by the General Leadership Foundation on https://generalleadership.com/. Reprinted with permission.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER WELCOME NEW CORPORATE MEMBERS

Progressing Forward

as of March 30, 2018

VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret.) NDTA President & CEO

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’m sitting on the 184 Amtrak train to Philadelphia to attend the 1 March, Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) Executive Working Group (EWG). We will also tour the commercial shipyard there and visit a ship being built by Matson. I feel very fortunate to be immersed in support to our Nation’s defense and in support of our military and federal government. I am proud of NDTA, and our strategic position, as a result of our mission focus.

It just so happens Amtrak is a Platinum Sponsor at the GovTravels conference. Along with other major sponsors, BCD Travel, CWTSatoTravel, Enterprise, Sabre, SAP Concur, Travelport and Turkish Airlines. These sponsors and others are important in helping to bring together government and industry to enter a dialog over the future of travel. There are many technological and process innovations occurring in the travel industry that will affect travel by our military service members and federal workers.

At NDTA we are going to set our course around the issues facing each of our industry sectors and our military/government leaders. Our committees are structured to tackle these issues, to educate and collaborate on solutions. With this in mind, we are embarking on a journey to restructure the Passenger Travel Services Committee (PTSC). Ms. Tina Grace of SAP Concur is going to pick up the Committee Chair role, along with Mr. Bryan Scott of Enterprise as the Vice Chair. We are grateful for Dr. Rocky Mobaraki’s leadership over the last dozen or so years. Mr. Bill Mansell, Director of the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), and I will be working closely with Ms. Grace to frame the issues facing the travel enterprise.

Keep an eye on the PTSC as they move out and hear more about how the committee is moving forward inside this issue of the DTJ. Again, NDTA’s role is to be a catalyst for improvement in service and capability.

Planning is full speed ahead for the Fall Meeting co-sponsored

by USTRANSCOM. Our theme is shaping up to focus on “delivering in an uncertain environment.” Along with USTRANSCOM, we are stretching our reach for world-class, influential speakers and developing the best ever Transportation Academy. If you have ideas, please contact our team.

Other initiatives under way are related to the 75th Anniversary.

These are our Membership Drive and our NDTA Foundation Drive. Regarding membership, we will be offering first-time members (military and government employees) a one-year membership at no cost. The Board of Directors approved this initiative with the stretch goal of signing up 1,000 new members over the next year.

We need your help to recruit and retain new members!

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE PLUS • Deloitte SUSTAINING • St. Louis Union Station Hotel Curio Collection by Hilton

Regarding the Foundation Drive, we will be looking to increase the dollar value of the scholarships we award each year.

These scholarships help aspiring logisticians, NDTA members and their children. The strategy is for NDTA to align with corporate sponsors who are interested in teaming with NDTA to hit our financial objectives for the Foundation. Companies who participate will receive special recognition throughout the year.

Foundation Chair Mr. Larry Larkin, VP of Finance Ms. Patty Casidy and I are available to answer any questions on this initiative. The NDTA Foundation is a separate entity within NDTA. Pulling into the Philadelphia train station soon and I must say the ride is a pleasant experience. Let’s all keep America moving! DTJ

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COUNT DOWN TO 75

ANNIVERSARY

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75

The Founding of NDTA

By Lori Leffler, Chair, NDTA Special Projects Committee and COL Dennis Edwards, USA (Ret.), NDTA Life Member

Founded in 1944, the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA) will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2019. To commemorate this milestone event, we will be publishing a series of articles selected from our archives that will highlight important events in our Association’s history.

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n nearly every war or conflict our country has been involved in, from the Revolutionary War right up to today’s military actions, there has always been a crucial need for transportation and logistics support. Invariably horses, wagons, and later trucks, railroads and airplanes, helped our countryman to augment our military forces.

During the course of these conflicts, “on-loan assets” became quite skilled in the transport and resupply functions they were asked to provide. Processes were developed, priorities set, and ways to transition civilian transportation operations to military methods were developed. It is interesting to note, said long time NDTA President LTG Edward Honor, USA (Ret.), that in more recent wars private sector transportation companies did more than simply transport materiel. They provided senior management and cadre the means to operate the military railroad system, and developed an industry/military affiliation program with the motor transport industry as a means of transferring expertise from the private sector to the military. Sealift was the workhorse for over-ocean transportation of people and materiel as our air transport system was not fully developed during this period.

Usually by the end of any given conflict, civilian transportation and logistics functions had become quite integrated and very successful. Then, when peace returned and all of the equipment and personnel was sent back to its donors, experiences gained 8

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during the conflict were too quickly forgotten or marginalized. Rather than maintaining a stand-by capability, or “warm base” ready to call into action for the next war, the prevailing opinions seemed to be that we’d probably never be faced with the same situations again. Perhaps not true— remember “the war to end all wars!”

Finally in 1944, as WWII was drawing to a close, the folly of again reducing to near zero transportation capability as peace returned was recognized—and something was starting to be done about it. Seven Army Transportation Officers (two Lieutenant Colonels, three Majors and two Captains), believing in the seriousness of the problem and the power of numbers, pledged to band together and organize The Army Transportation Association (ATA). The Association was created to advocate and “...foster the promotion and development of the art of Army transportation and the dissemination of transportation knowledge...and preserve the memories, traditions, and experiences developing from the service of its members in the Transportation Corps of the Army of the United States.”

Only five years after the ATA’s founding, the idea of strength in numbers surfaced again. This was due in part to a decline in the new Association’s membership resulting from many troops returning to civilian life and, in part, due to the changing organization of the National Military Establishment. More importantly, the idea resurfaced because the benefits of having

a multi-Service approach to transportation readiness, logistics and operations was quickly gaining momentum. These reasons were why, on 25 April 1949 the Association issued this statement: “In Unity There is Strength – ATA Changes its Name to NDTA” Early support for the Association was widespread considering there were 165,000 Army transporters in Service. But that number fell quickly and dramatically after the war, eventually plummeting down to only 25,000 Army personnel. Nevertheless, ATA thrived in those early organizational years, especially after the name change to the National Defense Transportation Association, which focused the Association on transporters in all Services, DOD and all modes of the civilian transportation industry. Peak membership statistics at the end of the initial five years showed 10,000 individual members, 24 chapters, and 15 corporate members.

Membership dues were five dollars per year.

In the next installment of Count Down to 75, we will cover more of NDTA in the post WWII years: the state of the Association and the many advances that were made as NDTA entered the 1950s and the Korean War period. Key among them were the birth of the Defense Transportation Journal, the National Transportation Award and coverage of the Association’s early Forums. Stay tuned! DTJ

NDTA’s Passenger Travel Services Committee: Forward Focused

By Sharon Lo, Managing Editor, DTJ & NDTAGram During the 2018 GovTravels Meeting, Ms. Tina Grace, Senior Director, Marketing Public Sector at Concur Technologies, was installed as the new Chairperson of NDTA’s Passenger Travel Services Committee (PTSC). To find out what we can expect to see for the Committee under its new leadership, we sat down with Ms. Grace for a chat. Here’s what she had to say:

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y goal is to reinvigorate the Committee. To bring together the right people—a mixture of new experts and current committee members—to redefine what this committee is capable of doing to assist government in making smart technology and best practices use in travel and travel spend management.

The Committee has elements that are very effective and working well, and the government likes the topics that they have tackled. But I want to explore how to increase our reputation as a resource for government. A resource to get help understanding challenges, perform market research or seek advice for growing their managed travel programs. Everybody knows the PTSC exists, but it doesn’t quite have that traction as the advocate and partner to government that I think it could.

Along with that I want to expand our reach. All of the challenges that DTMO [the Defense Travel Management Office] struggles with are challenges that GSA [the General Services Administration] struggles with, that state and local governments struggle with, that government contractors and even education space within the public sector side struggle with—they all have policy and compliance issues, fluid programs where rapid responses are essential, and they all have to figure out how to deal with disruptive technologies that

can have major impacts on their managed travel programs.

There’s so much commonality across the travel space, but because NDTA is predominantly a defense transportation organization, the Committee’s relationship was primarily with DTMO until GovTravels was launched. But even with GovTravels, our main focus has still been on DTMO and not bringing in other audiences in to serve, to get their expertise and to understand challenges that impact them.

Committee membership is comprised of the supplier channels—the car rental companies, hotels, and airlines. But we also have a government contracting base that is interested in regulations that change or are fluid within government. As a partner to government, they have a vested interest to make sure they are following all rules, regulations and policy requirements.

In some instances we have pockets of these member categories, but don’t utilize them to gain a complete picture for the Committee. For example, we have technology providers, but don’t really talk about technology issues affecting the government.

As we move forward, we need to leverage and grow some of our smaller populations.

When I think about the PTSC, I wonder if that name really resonates. We should consider whether renaming ourselves the GovTravels Committee or the Government Travel Committee would help to broaden our scope to better address the commonality of needs across all government travel and spend management programs.

Once we have the right name, the question becomes how to give it life so it has its own brand people recognize as a voice and an industry expert to help advise, provide insights, education, and a forum for government to meet with industry and

find ways to tackle the challenges that are in front of them. To accomplish that, we need to decide if we have the right structures in place, if we are talking to the complete audiences we should be talking to, how to bring additional expertise into the Committee, and how to rebrand it to get it started on that journey.

One of the first action items in our revitalization will be to take a step back to look at the overall charter of the Committee to decide collectively what top three missions we want to accomplish in order to be that industry advocate for government. After that, we can look at whether we have all the structured subcommittees in place to execute our missions or, if we have gaps, let’s talk about filling the gaps.

We will also turn our attention to the existing subcommittees. I want to ensure all subcommittees have a charter that connects to the broader PTSC charter so we are all working towards the same goals.

This also entails having clear action items of what’s getting accomplished every year within the Committee and subcommittees. In short, we need to have a defined pathway we are marching towards.

It’s easy to get into a room and have conversations about policy, technology and services, to talk about what works, what doesn’t work, and what the future might hold. But, we need to put forth good, actionable plans with timelines and where we can do some quality assurance checks that say whether or not we are meeting our objectives and mission. I want us to get to a point that, if we polled the government, they would say that we are the leading industry advocates for them in government travel.

We will be meeting soon with DTMO and GSA to kick off our work on revitalizing the Committee. Following that meeting, I plan to schedule another meeting with the subcommittee chairs. The goal of these meetings is to determine what should be in our charter, where have we been placing our efforts, what the value of the Committee is, and whether or not our value has shifted.

It’s not only helpful, but should be mandatory for any committee to do a pulse check every few years that asks ‘are we a committee to be a committee or are we a committee www.ndtahq.com |

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that is effectively driving advocacy, change and partnership with government?’

This all may entail us standing up new subcommittees, and it may mean we find several subcommittees are extremely valuable and are doing great work. But

One of the ways that NDTA provides value to government managed programs is to take those changes, disruptive technologies and mandates, and distill them into advice for the government.

Information would include things such as impacts to consider, and things that might benefit or derail your programs. that begs the question—are they getting enough visibility from us so everyone recognizes the value they are providing?

Most people probably can’t tell me what the subcommittees have accomplished in the past year to 18 months. We are doing ourselves a disservice by not documenting and extoling the virtues of what these subcommittees are doing to help govern-

ment. We need to get the right communications plans from the subcommittees to challenge and communicate that they are doing some pretty great things to move the needle for government.

The landscape as a whole for managed travel programs, regardless of it being a commercial entity or government entity, is changing greatly. It feels like it changes every couple of months as new technologies are released that challenge policy; user behaviors change drastically because they want to use the latest technology; and data analytics is no longer an area that is simply nice to have. Decision making has to be data-driven—and government is no exception to that. Organizations have to figure out where data is coming from, what data they have, how to repurpose data to drive good decision making in their programs so they can operate with agility, and be lean and responsive, while not impacting the services that are delivering the programs they are designed to do.

Technology challenges us every day in this space, as it continues to change and evolve. If you are a government entity, it is sometimes difficult to continually keep

THE BEST CHOICE FOR EXTENDED STAY LODGING 10

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your finger on the pulse of that change.

At times, it can also prove challenging for government entities to meet changes because their stricter policies and mandates restrict their ability to operate like a commercial organization is able to do.

One of the ways that NDTA provides value to government managed programs is to take those changes, disruptive technologies and mandates, and distill them into advice for the government. Information would include things such as impacts to consider, and things that might benefit or derail your programs. Within NDTA we need to refocus to say ‘I want to be that advocate.’

It’s great to get into the subcommittees and focus intensely on one topic that’s plaguing the government and talk about that for a year. But how many other things happened in the course of that year that impacted their program either through technology, mandates or processes? Now you just added four things to your list, and if you don’t tackle those four eventually you have eight and before you know it, because you are not taking a holistic approach, there’s a snowball effect of all these things impacting your program.

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This is important for the Committee and subcommittees to think about moving forward to help us decide where to dig in really deep to solve a root problem with government and where we step back. If we step back, we can, for example, provide some market research insights into the issue, but then we can continue down the path of all the other things that are also impacting government. It’s all about balance. I am excited to see how finding this balance—broadening their scopes while putting some boundaries around what they do—will increase our effectiveness.

At its core mission, NDTA is a bridge builder. It builds bridges, gets collaboration moving and puts experts at the table on both sides to solve really big problems.

But, we can’t solve every problem. If connecting industry and government is indeed our core mission, the Committee and its subcommittees should be putting the right connections in place for government to get a holistic approach. We should be going out to industry to ask for their insights on a problem government is having, with the goal of compiling those thoughts, research, best practices and recommenda-

tions from industry, and presenting that to government.

This is an opportunity for NDTA to establish an expert voice in government travel across the board. It is a huge opportunity to rebrand the PTSC, figure out what’s working, what’s not, put some structure around making some really tangible wins for government and industry, and become a strong bridge builder—connecting the right people, the right voices, to solve government travel managed programs. If we can do just that core mission, we are already a step in the right direction of being a true advocate and partner.

Change is good and this will be a time for change for the PTSC. There will be challenges along the way, but this is an opportunity to revitalize and to create an organization that truly supports government travel. For industry and government, from the travel manager to the head of DTMO, and for all aspects of this community, we will focus on what the PTSC can do to be a voice not just for Defense travel, but for government travel as a whole.

We are committed to moving on that change. As we move toward it, we are lucky

to have subcommittees that have done some great work. But it is time to dig in, look at our charters, broaden our focus, and come back to the basics of how to serve our missions really well in the direction we are going.

Our focus must be on growth—where have we grown our value, what have we done year-over-year that has continued to grow our value or are we in the same position as we were three years ago? Let’s look at our value chain to industry and government as that bridge builder or advocate to see where our growth lies and what we can point to as something that says we are continuing to grow that value.

In every organization, whether you are a non-profit association, an industry entity or government entity, if you are not evaluating your value year-over-year, you are doing your organization a disservice. This is a simple undertaking that all organizations should do regardless of their success rates or their bumps in the road. But, that’s what makes this a really exciting time—the ability to evolve and achieve some really great things for the partnership between industry and government. DTJ

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DTMO Awarded Best-in-Class Designation

By Betsey Grundy, Defense Travel Management Office

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ast November, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated the US Government Rental Car Program, managed by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), as a “Best in Class” sourcing solution (BIC). The program provides special rental benefits and reduced rates to federal employees traveling on official business. It is designed to meet the needs of the federal traveler, and provide quality rentals through rental car companies at over 10,000 rental locations worldwide. This designation recognizes the program as an effective and efficient government-wide sourcing solution that should be used by all federal agencies.

A BIC designation is a way to distinguish those sourcing solutions that meet certain performance criteria outlined

by OMB under its effort to improve the way the government acquires goods and services. Category Management, as it is known, is a sourcing approach to buy services smarter, more strategically, and as a single enterprise, resulting in increased effectiveness, eliminated redundancies, and reduced costs. To determine the “categories,” OMB identified ten main areas

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of federal spend, with Travel and Lodging as one. Where possible, BIC will be designated in each category. The value of BIC designations is sharing best practices, leveraging lessons learned and expertise, and providing efficient acquisition management solutions.

To be designated as BIC, the sourcing solution must meet five key criteria that include using rigorous requirements definitions and planning processes, appropriate pricing strategies, data-driven demand management strategies, category and performance management practices, and passing an independent validation and review by the category team.

DTMO administers the program through an agreement with participating rental companies. Since implementing the current US Government Rental Car Agreement, DTMO has worked to enhance management practices for the US Government Rental Car Program through: • Transactional data reporting – DTMO actively uses performance metrics, collects and analyzes data, and monitors performance to enable true data-driven sourcing decisions. DTMO continues

to work with the rental car vendors to refine data reporting to support the BIC requirement to delineate total spend by federal agencies.

• Stakeholder integration – DTMO hosts annual meetings with federal agency stakeholders and rental car vendors in an effort to continually improve the program. DTMO conducts program reviews, and assesses specific agency and collective requirements to target solutions that meet customer needs.

• Savings – The US Government Rental Car Program provides a unique opportunity to leverage the government’s buying power. The acquisition strategy allows for an endless competition model because every rental is competed between all site suppliers. Program benefits such as free collision/damage waiver or loss/damage waiver, liability insurance coverage, and no charge for additional or underage drivers, are bundled into a single five dollar daily charge, called the Government Administrative Rate Supplement (GARS). These benefits would cost more if paid separately. The program saved over $20 million in fiscal year 2017 when compared to Business Travel News Top 100 corporate programs.

DTMO’s approach provides end-to-end program management of the US Government Rental Car Program to include acquisition, claims processing and program inquiries, supplier management, stakeholder engagement, and data analysis.

DTMO supports the government’s broad strategic sourcing initiative to manage acquisitions effectively, and wherever possible, join together with agencies to negotiate the best deal for the taxpayer.

DOD staffs and manages the US Government Rental Car Program with a minimal footprint at no cost to agencies. When benchmarked against industry standards in several categories, DOD’s end-to-end approach is rated highly as a result of its supplier management that includes monthly performance data and reporting; the service it provides its customers, including its damage claims and assistance tool; supplier negotiations with rates determined by

competition and market economics; and monitoring supplier spend through the tracking of program base rates.

To retain the BIC designation, the program must be reviewed annually. As part of that process, DTMO must meet these requirements: • Complete efforts to delineate rental car spend by federal agencies.

• Provide the General Services Administration (GSA) Category Management Program Management Office quarterly/ annual spend and cost savings reports in order to demonstrate program value.

• Participate in category management BIC annual program reviews where category managers review the program to ensure it continues to meet the five criteria necessary for BIC designation.

The BIC designation is by no means an end state. The department plans to

A BIC designation is a way to distinguish those sourcing solutions that meet certain performance criteria outlined by OMB under its effort to improve the way the government acquires goods and services.

Category Management, as it is known, is a sourcing approach to buy services smarter, more strategically, and as a single enterprise, resulting in increased effectiveness, eliminated redundancies, and reduced costs. continue to improve the program to realize additional efficiencies, cost savings, and improve processes. As one step to further improvement, DTMO continues to push the GSA to implement

the mandatory program requirement in the Federal Travel Regulations, the policy regulations that govern non-DOD agency travel. The program is already mandated for DOD use and mandating it across the federal government would increase savings, provide benefits and improve duty of care for federal travelers, and lead to better fidelity of total program spend data.

Additionally, over the next year, DTMO plans to work with the rental car vendors and stakeholders to update the US Government Rental Car Agreement. The goal of the updated agreement is to improve the program through clarified terms and conditions, the application of best practices, and strengthened partnerships.

Additional information on the US Government Rental Car Program is available on DTMO’s website at www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/rentalCar.cfm. DTJ

Transcor 9310 Old Kings Road South, Suite 501 Jacksonville, Florida, 32257 | (904) 737-7500 Chuck Speranzella, President | Csperan@etranscor.com Cindi Tepper, Government Program Manager | Ctepper@etranscor.com Transcor, Inc. currently provides air and ground travel management services to all Job Corps Centers, Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), over 2800 Military Recruiters and their Commands in the United States and Puerto Rico, through its proprietary online travel management system known as “eTranscor”. Transcor, Inc. is one of the largest agents of online ground transportation in the country.

Transcor's carriers range from AMTRAK, Greyhound Lines, Inc. and its interlining partners, to several DTMO approved van companies that run 14 passenger vans for military recruit and MEPS transportation, in the U.S. and Puerto Rico six days per week. Transcor's Data Services provides state of the art reservation, ticketing and accounting systems for Greyhound, Lines Inc. and most major bus lines throughout the U.S. and Canada.

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La Quinta Inns & Suites Embraces Military Community with Holistic Enterprise-Wide Initiative

By Cheryl Endres, La Quinta Military Programs Advisor

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aunched over six years ago, the La Quinta Salutes military initiative was built on six pillars that allow for an enterprise-wide holistic approach to embracing the military. Derek Blake, La Quinta’s Vice President – Marketing and Military Programs, who leads the initiative said, “Embracing the military community is not only the right thing to do but it also makes good business sense. Our efforts are focused on hiring veterans and military spouses by providing opportunities conducive to their unique skill sets. La Quinta offers portable, flexible jobs or careers to accommodate frequent PCS [Permanent Change of Station] moves and deployment schedules, as well as upward mobility. Putting people first is embedded in our corporate culture and those who have a passion for people and service fall in line with two very important core values of the La Quinta employee ethos. Transitioning service members have found their acclimation to a civilian career with us to be a smooth one—the remaining three La Quinta core values which are inspired by our people are integrity, excellence and unique.”

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| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

With more than 900 hotels and over 10,000 team members located in 48 US states, Canada, Mexico, Honduras and Colombia, La Quinta’s talent acquisition team, led by Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Mikki Hughes, assists local general managers to find members of this exceptional talent pool by providing a 10-page handbook called The La Quinta Military Recruitment Guide. This resource tool includes sections on why veterans and military spouses make great employees, where to find them, interviewing techniques and guidelines for the onboarding process. The highlights of why veterans and military spouses make great La Quinta team members include: • Ability to Learn – Our military members are asked to learn new tasks on a consistent basis—not only do they have to learn the new skill but in many cases, they must master it in a very short period.

• Teamwork – Everyone who serves has a job that relates to a bigger team goal.

They understand the importance of working within a team to achieve to-

•

gether. They must be able to balance the ability to work independently on tasks in order to achieve the broader team goal.

Integrity – The military instills and reinforces the importance of integrity with all its members; this translates into an employee who is more likely to be trustworthy.

Ability to Overcome Challenges – Not every situation in the military comes with a set of instructions on how to handle it; our military members must have the ability to think on their feet and make sound decisions.

Performance Under Pressure – Members of the military are accustomed to working under tight deadlines and accomplishing a lot in a short amount of time.

Leadership – Each position in the military has a leadership component, whether it is leading a team or demonstrating leadership in an individual contributor role. This translates into an employee who is more likely to be a self-starter with the ability to work well within a team.

Blake adds insights that military spouses comprise an eager workforce. “We’ve come to know valuable aspects specific to military spouses: they have the drive to work hard and do well; they seek upward mobility, careers vs. jobs; and they are well educated and often underemployed. Bringing these attributes to the forefront of hiring managers is imperative to have a positive impact on military spouse employment.”

La Quinta’s Military Recruitment Guide has a separate section on what makes them valuable assets: • Long-Term Employees – Most spouses are stationed in a location anywhere from 2-4 years on average. When military spouses must move, La Quinta has over 880 hotels across the country so they can likely take their job with them to another hotel in our system.

• Employee Retention – La Quinta has been able to show a higher retention rate for those employees with a military background vs. those without.

• Unique Skills – Due to the nature of their roles, military spouses and caregivers bring with them a well-balanced

skill set that fits nicely into the La Quinta culture. These skills include: – Flexibility – Adaptability – Motivation – Resilience – Problem Resolution – Organization – Team Player – Leadership – Resourcefulness Blake has been involved in this initiative since day one and is a founding member and current chairman of the Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council of Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), a program of the US Chamber of Commerce. He was also awarded the HOH Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award for his leadership and efforts in helping them find meaningful employment, as well as

assisting other organizations in shaping their hiring initiatives.

Last summer, to better understand the current military spouse employment landscape, La Quinta collaborated with HOH to conduct a survey of active duty and recent veteran spouses. Military Spouses in the Workplace: Understanding the Impacts of Military Spouse Unemployment on Military Recruitment, Retention, and Readiness was released at the Military Spouse Employment Summit in Washington, DC, which was attended by national corporations, government officials and members of the Trump administration.

Key findings included: • Unemployment and underemployment continue to be significant challenges for most military spouses. Many are in part time or seasonal positions when they would prefer full time or permanent work.

• Military spouses with degrees face the greatest challenges in nearly every measur-

able employment category. They face the highest rates of unemployment and the most difficulty finding meaningful work.

• Moves between duty stations play havoc on careers. Not only do most military spouses have to quit jobs because of a move, they face long periods of unemployment after the move.

• Like most American families, military families want and need two incomes— something that is much harder for military families to achieve.

• The lack of employment opportunities creates stress and influences a family’s decision to stay in or leave the military—factors that ultimately hurt military readiness, retention, and recruiting.

The call to action for all was to acknowledge these challenges and to create opportuSee La Quinta pg. 26

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GovTravels:

The Symposium on Government Travel & Passenger Services

“The Future of Government Travel” March 5-7, 2018 Alexandria, VA Text by Kimberly Huth, Director of Public Relations, NDTA Photos by Cherie Cullen

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GovTravels summary material, produced by NDTA, is intended to provide an overview of presentations and should not be con­sidered verbatim.

This information does not necessarily represent the official position of the US government or any of its entities, NDTA or any of its corporate members.

We regret any errors or omissions. For more information regarding the meeting please visit NDTA’s website at www.ndtahq.com. | Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

GovTravels Symposium Promotes Collaboration in Government Travel

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ore than 500 professionals and 150 organizations reptravel decision makers, educational breakouts, and a full-fledged resenting the federal and state government travel secexpo space with 54 exhibitors. tor gathered at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Mansell provided his expertise onstage during GovTravels.

Alexandria, Virginia, March 5-7, 2018, for the third annual Other distinguished government speakers and panelists included GovTravels symposium.

John Bergin, Business Technology Officer for the Department GovTravels provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders of Defense Chief Information Officer; Tony D’Astolfo, Travel in both government and the private sector to meet and collabTechnology Expert; LTG Russel L. Honoré, USA (Ret.), former orate on regulations, technology, challenges and best practices Commander Joint Task Force Katrina; Mike Premo, President in government travel. For the second year and Chief Executive Officer, Airlines Rein a row, NDTA’s GovTravels Symposium porting Corporation (ARC); and Sean We are reinvigorating the Passenger was co-sponsored by the Defense Travel Schwinn, Vice President of International Travel Services Committee of Management Office (DTMO), which Strategy and Market Development, Boeing. oversees commercial travel for the Depart“This year’s GovTravels Symposium, coNDTA under the leadership of Ms. ment of Defense. sponsored with the Defense Travel ManageTina Grace of SAP Concur as the “We look forward to continuing our coment Office, turned out to be an outstandCommittee Chair. The committee, sponsorship of this important symposium ing event—with a 25 percent increase in working with DTMO, will focus on and further expanding our presence in the attendance. The speakers and educational years to come,” said William Mansell, Di- bringing forward the relevant issues sessions received many accolades for conrector of DTMO. “At $9 billion, we are tent and applicability to both government facing DOD (and government writ responsible for about 60 percent of the and industry,” said VADM Andy Brown large) and industry partners. federal government’s travel spend. With an USN (Ret.), NDTA’s President and CEO. enterprise that large, it is easy to appreciate “Mr. Bill Mansell and the DTMO team the value in a forum where government and the travel industry were instrumental in building bridges with industry as DTMO are actively engaged and able to exchange ideas, explore new looks to the future of travel services in DOD and the governtechnology solutions, learn about the latest trends, and study ment. Planning for next year will start immediately. We are rebest practices.” invigorating the Passenger Travel Services Committee of NDTA The 2018 symposium incorporated contributions and feedunder the leadership of Ms. Tina Grace of SAP Concur as the back from NDTA members, DTMO, the General Services AdCommittee Chair. The committee, working with DTMO, will ministration (GSA), the Transportation Security Administration focus on bringing forward the relevant issues facing DOD (and (TSA) and private industry. Additionally, GovTravels offered government writ large) and industry partners. We look forward access to presentations by prominent speakers, discussions with to building on our current positive trajectory!” www.ndtahq.com |

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The Future of Government Travel Takes Center Stage

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here is the future of government travel headed? A broad cross-section of presenters from private industry and the federal government set out to answer that question on March 6, the second day of the 2018 GovTravels Symposium.

A significant effort by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) to restructure the Joint Travel Federal Regulation (JTFR) and decrease the page count from 3,600 to 1,200 was an incredible start, but more can be accomplished, according to keynote speaker John Bergin, Senior Executive Service, Business Technology Officer for the Department of Defense (DOD) Chief Information Officer. He noted the typical traveler was trustworthy and a good steward of taxpayer dollars, and verification should focus more on oversight of the process.

“The reality is oversight of the program needs to be highlighted versus trying to prove the traveler was wicked and wasteful,” said Bergin. Technology has evolved and allowed for more efficient accountability for the traveler, but government travel has been slow to innovate. DTMO is working incredibly hard to enable the traveler to make better business decisions when they schedule travel and to enhance availability of choices to suit the traveler.

Part of the difference too, in a government traveler’s experience, is the technology behind their trip. DOD’s Defense Travel System (DTS) provides good service, but as a custom-designed system it inherently lacks the flexibility to incorporate the private sector’s rapid advances into a mobile-dominated world. By adding “local” policies or looking at travel through fiscal lenses, we add processing time and seem detached from the traveler, and this is being discussed at the Secretary of Defense level. In fact, when Secretary Mattis travels, he often hears complaints about the DTS process taking so much time, which is why he has ensured this process is being improved from the top down. Restructuring the JTFR was a great start that we need to build on.

GOVERNMENT TRAVEL AT A CROSSROADS

Tony D’Astolfo, Travel Technology Expert, moderated a panel focused on real-time use of traveler issues using a variety of mediums, to include feedback via travel agencies, direct contact, apps, and website feedback. D’Astolfo introduced the audience to the term “GAFA” (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple), and said “GAFA has figured out that the traveler is more interested in being pushed information versus having to pull it from a web page.”

The difference between those companies and all others is they have set a standard of expecting ease of purchase (think less clicks), personalization and innovation of the traveler and constant innovation. But, we must layer on an important safety measure.

Mitigating travel risk and responding when an event occurs can prove challenging for many global companies, but arguably more challenging for our government travel community. According to an April 2012 SAP Concur article1, Duty of Care is a 18

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

company’s responsibility for the well-being of its employees from both a moral and legal perspective, and how it extends to traveling employees. That is an even more complex challenge as we send government travelers to global locations. “In my view, we should embrace technology analytics and build improvements around the data,” said William Mansell, Director of the Defense Travel Management Office.

“Travelers today are better educated and so are their parents, whom I hear from when their son or daughter is delayed at an airport far from home,” said Mansell. In addition to easing the travelers, burdensome travel experience, from beginning to end, we have a Duty of Care responsibility. “Duty of Care is a team sport, and although more communication with a traveler is positive, it also increases our digital footprint.”

Erica Moore, VP-Americas, Travelport, reminded the audience the future of travel is everyone’s challenge. Consider for a moment companies like Airbnb and Uber, and how they have impacted the family moving across the country. They have applied innovative ideas and we in the government travel space are left wondering how to incorporate those ideas. They may be more likely to utilize a service like that to meet their family needs. According to Moore, “46 percent of travelers are business travelers.” They desire a streamlined experience they then carry into their personal travel experiences.

RESILIENT LEADERSHIP

The 2018 GovTravels Symposium was excited to host LTG Russel Honoré, USA (Ret.), former Commander Joint Task Force Katrina. In some circles, he is referred to as the “Category 5 General.”

A decorated 37-year US Army veteran, LTG Honoré shared his leadership lessons learned during a very challenging time. As the Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, during post-hurricane New Orleans, he coordinated a military response while listening to the needs of the community. “Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it will not happen,” he said, referring to the risks of building in a flood zone. When a Category 5 storm is projected,

we should all plan to have things like trees and power poles as projectiles, extensive power outages and flooding. He challenged the innovators in the room to develop “generators that are as small as suitcases” and asked the audience if they thought today’s pocketsized cell phones would have been possible 15 years ago.

In closing, the General said there were three principles of leadership: “Do the routine things well; don’t be afraid to take on the seemingly impossible; and never allow yourself to become paralyzed into inaction by fear of criticism.”

Sabre on Understanding Corporate Travel Best Practices. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) predicts business travel spending will grow by 6.1 percent in 2018, up 5.1 percent from 2017. The Morgan Stanley 2018 Global Corporate Travel Outlook Survey reports that over two thirds of corporate travel buyers expect air traffic volumes to increase by average of

DTMO is working incredibly hard to enable the traveler to make better business decisions when they schedule travel and to enhance availability of choices to suit the traveler. Part of the difference too, in a government traveler’s experience, is the technology behind their trip.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS

The afternoon sessions were industry, DTMO and GSA sponsored.

Topics covered included FY19 City Pairs, Travel Management Companies (TMC) and Corporate Best Practices, and Touchpoints in the Traveler Experience. The Future of TMCs discussion centered around the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to Lori Leffler, Hospitality Branch Chief, DTMO, “Travelers will no longer need to set up searches; instead, travelers will enter the city, date and number of rooms. They will receive hotel options—all matching the travel policy plus an individual preference within the current published policy.” By evolving our methods, we will “provide more transparency, and it will force government to create new travel policies that better reflect today’s marketplace,” said Leffler.

VADM Andy Brown, USN (Ret.) led a panel of industry professionals from CWTSatoTravel, General Dynamics and

4.8 percent and air prices to increase an average of 1.8 percent.

The panel closed by recommending shifting from a traditional service-based model to a technology-focused strategy. They further recommended that companies focus on adopting travel risk management solutions that enable communications with travelers during trips through alerts and traveler status updates.

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Eberhard, M. (2012, April 17). Understanding Duty of Care in Relation to Business Travel. Retrieved from SAP Concur: https://www.concur.com/ newsroom/article/understanding-duty-care-relation-business-travel

THE BENEFITS OF BOOKING TRAVEL through DTS, ETS2 and TMCs 1.

Comply with your agency’s travel policy and government regulations to ensure you are not liable for any extra expenses or damages.

2.

Save yourself time and hassle by making travel plans through your designated online tool or agency, a one-stop-shop for booking and making changes that can provide assistance in the event that your travel is disrupted.

3.

Protect your booking from hidden fees and nonreimbursable costs.

4.

Ensure your hotel booking is compliant to receive the best benefits available through our official hotel programs.

cwtsatotravel.com

www.ndtahq.com |

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Government Executives Discuss the Impact of Natural Disasters and Industry Trends

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n March 7, GovTravels’ final day, several government executives provided key insights into the disaster preparedness from both government and industry perspectives. The day opened with a panel moderated by Marques Tibbs-Brewer, Regional Sales Executive, SAP Concur, entitled “The Impact of Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies on Travel Managers and Travel Industry Suppliers.” Timothy Bury, Mobility/Logistics Plans Officer, NORAD/USNORTHCOM informed the audience that anytime a storm reaches a Category 3, NORTHCOM leads the planning but relies on supporting commands to execute its plans to support evacuations and logistics deliveries. Imagine the challenges that presented when faced with back to back storms in 2017. “73,000 people were moved during a three-week period during Hurricane Katrina,” and during a three-week period last year they were coordinating logistics and day-to-day care for displaced residents from Texas, California and Florida, said Bryan Scott, Director Federal Government Sales, Enterprise Holdings. He concluded that although the government and industry representatives must work together during the planning and post-event to ensure coordinated requirements meet the intended needs of the community, which will “most likely be in desperate need of support.” Developing a plan that involves all aspects of government, both local, state and federal, as well as industry leaders, becomes a vital piece of successful recovery.

IMPLICATIONS

Mike Premo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC), delivered a speech highlighting the Implications of Travel Industry Trends. “In the early days of aviation, agencies could get ‘accredited’ but had to get paper airline tickets from each airline directly,” said Premo. ARC allows trans20

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

parency into airline sales agents (structure and ownership) and ensures airlines get paid. He noted that “99 percent of today’s travelers use electronic means to book travel.” He noted that surprising trends need to be understood and implemented when planning.

For instance: “the greatest numeric increase of 42 million in 2014 to 72 million in 2016 in ARC transactions is one-way tickets.”

This increase has encouraged airlines to sell products—one-way tickets, partial fares, etc.—and decreased the number of behavior-based walls. These implications allow us to study some of the current trends, however with the industry changing so quickly, “we must look at the industry through new lenses.” The industry has recently partnered on an initiative named ONE Order, an industry-led initiative intended to replace the multiple and rigid booking, ticketing, delivery, and accounting method with one single and flexible order management process. It leverages the data communications advances made possible by the implementation of the New Distribution Capability and removes inefficiencies inherited from paper-based industry processes. In October 2016, the Passenger Services Conference adopted a Resolution on a standard for the ONE Order initiative. Full adoption of ONE Order is a multi-year, multi-stage process that will engage many participants in the travel value chain including airlines, travel agents, global distribution systems, passenger service system suppliers, airline e-commerce platforms and others.

THE FUTURE

“We have come a very long way since the first passenger travel transcontinental service on a Boeing Model 40A on July 2, 1927,” said Sean Schwinn, Vice President of International Strategy and Market Development, Boeing. “In 1946, considered an infant industry, there were 18 million passengers. Today, we are projected to have 40 billion passengers—10 million a day! To meet this growing demand, airlines will need 41,030 new airplanes valued at $6.1 trillion.” Looking into the future, we can expect that travelers will become older, more diverse and more connected. Pain points will intensify—for passengers and our planet. The challenge, according to Schwinn, will be to make travel possible for those who haven’t traveled and easier for those that have. Air taxies within urban areas and airline windows that can live stream data personalized for the traveler are just a few areas industry is looking at to innovate the travel experience. Future travel innovations must include solutions for developing countries, low-stress travel, region and urban mobility, connectivity and big data, and, lastly, sustainability. DTJ

Thank You GovTravels Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

Avis Budget Group • La Quinta Inns & Suites • Madison Hospitality South African Airways • Southwest Airlines • The Hertz Corporation Proceeds from the NDTA Sponsorship Program support the NDTA general operating fund. Participation in the NDTA Sponsorship Program does not imply support or endorsement by the Defense Travel Management Office or any other US government entity. www.ndtahq.com |

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NDTA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT The Value of NDTA

By COL Rod Mallette, USA (Ret.) Vice President, International Auto Logistics

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hen NDTA began, it did so with the stated goal of creating trust and knowledge between the military, government civilians and leaders of the transportation industry. Today, NDTA has broadened its scope to include logistics, passenger travel services, and professional training while maintaining its status as a non-political, non-profit educational organization.

Its membership has expanded from senior members of the military, government and industry to include junior members of these organizations and students studying logistics.

NDTA’s broadened scope permitted me to gain increased knowledge for any organization with which I was associated while simultaneously increasing my personal value. There is no doubt that NDTA was instrumental to my successful military and commercial career in logistics.

The first NDTA Forum I attended in 1988 was as a Senior Captain assigned to the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), now the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), and proved to be an eye-opening experience. The theme, Deterrence Thru Deployment, was so appropriate as the US Military would deploy into Kuwait in less than two years utilizing commercial airlift and sealift. Senior military officers were on panels discussing the difficulties moving large Army, and industry leaders were concerned with how their companies would support the US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). More importantly, these senior people were interested in speaking to junior officers and sharing their experience. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were probably trying to identify individuals who had potential to be worthy of their time as a mentor.

The theme of the NDTA Forum in 1998, Partners in Power Projection, was the centerpiece of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the US ocean and air carriers were heavily used during the deployment and sustainment of this campaign. Many of the 24

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

people I met ten years earlier were now in more senior positions at their companies.

Our long-term relationships made it easier to coordinate, smoothing aspects of the deployment for which I was responsible.

The NDTA Conference in 2008, with the theme, The Global Enterprise, was quite appropriate. Discussions and panels centered on the international supply chain.

All US-flag ocean and air companies were connected worldwide. Having retired from the military two years earlier, it seemed amazing how commercial and military logistics worked together on a daily basis.

There are five key areas in which my relationship with NDTA helped: mentoring, knowledge, networking, confidence, and leadership.

MENTORING

I met LTG Ed Honor who sat me at his table during the Awards Night dinner in 1988 in an effort to get to know me. We developed somewhat of a mentor/mentee relationship as he became the President of NDTA. During his tenure, I remember asking how to be a good mentor and identify someone who is willing to be mentored. LTG Honor said the mentor must determine if he can help the mentee and balance that against the effort it will take.

The mentor must also decide if the mentee is willing to accept mentoring and apply lessons to be a better military or civilian professional.

His comments come to my mind whenever I have the opportunity to mentor someone.

KNOWLEDGE

Visiting industry display booths and talking to individuals about their respective company is an integral part of attending any NDTA conference. My assignment to MTMC came immediately after graduate school and I had no knowledge of commercial industry. I learned that the different modes of transportation like to work with customers that understand their business and pay their bills on time. For example, trucking companies and their drivers most want to haul cargo

for customers that quickly load and unload their trucks, pay their bills on time, and understand their business model. A junior person at a display booth explained this to me and we stayed in touch with over the years; he is now the president of his company.

Similarly, at a subsequent NDTA Forum, I was interested in the US-flag ocean car-

Many of the people I met ten years earlier were now in more senior positions at their companies. Our longterm relationships made it easier to coordinate, smoothing aspects of the deployment for which I was responsible. rier industry and learned why the Maritime Security Program (MSP) is so important to the US maritime industry. MSP provides a core fleet of US-flag privately owned ships that operate in international commerce during peace, but provide capacity to meet Department of Defense (DOD) requirements during war and national emergencies. In addition, MSP ship crews are a major component of the DOD’s surge fleet. The junior person who explained this to me is now head of the US-flag division of his company.

We’ve stayed in touch over the years and all of us are in comparable leadership positions in our respective companies. It could be said that we’ve grown up together in the professional world.

NETWORKING

NDTA gives me the opportunity to network. When I was serving on active duty, it was networking with commercial industry. Now that I’ve retired from the Army, I continue to network with industry, but must do the same with military members.

There are three things on which I focus when networking: increasing my personal knowledge, developing common interests, and ensuring I share my knowledge.

See NDTA Memb. Spot. pg. 26

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Cont’d from La Quinta pg. 15 nities that would help combat the 16 percent unemployment rate among them—four times higher than their civilian counterparts.

In recognition of La Quinta’s firm commitment to hiring veterans and military spouses, for the sixth consecutive year, the company has been named a 2018 Military Friendly Employer and Military Friendly Spouse Employer by G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse magazines—this year once again ranking in the Top 10 among MFSEs. La Quinta was also among the top 50 in Military Times’ Best for Vets 2017; the 2018 list is due out later this year. “La Quinta Inns & Suites is committed to not only being military friendly, but military and military family ‘ready’,” says Blake.

Part of the company’s onboarding process includes the presentation of a La Quinta challenge coin and veteran or military spouse pin.

Since its inception six years ago, La Quinta Salutes is ever evolving to reflect and address the needs of transitioning service members and active duty military spouses.

“Our talent acquisition team actively engages in the Hiring Our Heroes’ Corporate Fellowship Program, allowing active duty military to experience firsthand La Quinta’s corporate culture and management training,” Blake explained. In fact, last summer a command sergeant major stationed at Fort Carson, CO went through the program with La Quinta and was then hired as a general manager upon his retirement. He currently has a transitioning officer going through the Corporate Fellowship Program at his property in Austin, TX. The program is now open to military spouses in some locations.

“We also have a strong commitment to mentorship and have been selected for six consecutive years to participate in the US Air Force Education With Industry (EWI) program which provides mid-career officers a year-long fellowship with vetted employers,” said Blake. While most of the officers serve in La Quinta’s cybersecurity department, they do spend time in all areas of operations, sales and marketing. “Our first EWI fellow even went on to head Air Force Lodging!”

Fairly new to La Quinta Salutes is the Military Business Resource Group (BRG), which provides an opportunity for veterans and military spouses to meet other service and family members, and feel connected when working within a “civilian” environment. It also provides civilian employees the opportunity to connect with members of the military community with whom they might not otherwise 26

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

have the opportunity to engage. Additionally, the BRG will provide mentorship and professional development. An outcome for the BRG will be improved camaraderie, understanding and communication between military and civilian employees through the sharing of military experience and skills, and integrated team work on community outreach projects.

La Quinta supports and partners with over 20 non-profit organizations that benefit the military community and, through its La Quinta Returns loyalty program, was able to donate five million points to such organizations as Fisher House Foundation, Operation Homefront, Armed Services YMCA,

Since its inception six years ago, La Quinta Salutes is ever evolving to reflect and address the needs of transitioning service members and active duty military spouses.

Team Red White & Blue, and Team Rubicon during November’s Military Family Appreciation Month. The generosity of La Quinta customers and the company’s million-point match translates into 450 free room nights for military families in need. Additionally, La Quinta Returns members rallied to donate 18 million points to Team Rubicon to assist them in their disaster relief efforts.

To further recognize all service members, veterans and their families, La Quinta Returns Military Rewards program provides members with exclusive benefits including: • 12 percent discount off best available rates • Instant Military Rewards Gold status • 2,000 bonus points • Free nights, upgrades and more • Recognition upon check in with La Quinta’s purple ‘thank you for your service’ key card holder La Quinta Salutes military initiative also includes sourcing from veteran-, service-, and military spouse-owned businesses for whom the company provides 15-day payment terms.

As a member of the Coalition for Veteran Owned Businesses (CVOB), La Quinta supports them in their mission to provide economic opportunity to veterans, their families and the communities in which they live by offering leadership and a national platform to support veteran-, service member-, and military spouse-owned businesses; entrepreneurs; and suppliers. And, for veterans interested in becoming a La Quinta franchisee, it offers a special program through VetFran. DTJ

Cont’d from NDTA Memb. Spot. pg. 24 Networking is hard work, but the structure of NDTA makes it easier. All members or attendees at meetings are knowledgeable about logistics, with detailed knowledge of their company and industry. By talking to other members, one can gain some of this knowledge. For example, a member from trucking will always have current knowledge of issues within the trucking industry. This information can enable you to mitigate problems within your company or government contract if you choose to understand the issue.

Similarly, one can explain an industry or government perspective to another member and it might be something they’ve not considered. If you’ve developed a relationship over the years through NDTA and social events, it makes it much easier to reach out with questions and get an answer. Conversely, they will reach out to you knowing you’ll provide an answer or know who can provide one.

CONFIDENCE

As I’ve gained knowledge of industry and stayed current with military logistic priorities, I understand both perspectives and can provide better personal value to my company. This is because I understand the limits of my knowledge in these areas, but know who can fill in the holes through my network and relationships found in NDTA. LEADERSHIP

My observations of senior leaders active in NDTA has shown me how one must always seek knowledge and truly understand each transportation mode. The most successful leaders appear to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, always asking questions and listening.

Today’s NDTA is an organization that is still creating trust and knowledge among members of the military, government and industry. If one stays involved with NDTA at the junior, mid-level and senior ranks, the opportunity to have good things happen for both your organization and you is there. DTJ Rod Mallette is a retired colonel who last served in the Army as Chief of Staff of SDDC. His civilian career includes senior positions with a US-flag ocean carrier, an international 3PL, a truck company and a government contractor. He served as President of two NDTA chapters, the NDTA Surface Committee, the NDTA Distribution Committee and as Chair of the Council of Regional Presidents.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Demands of Passenger Travel Require Industry Professionals Irvin Varkonyi, President, SCOPE Consulting ivarkonyi@scopedu.com

P

assenger travel has always had demanding customers, but in the age of instant communication and perhaps gratification, never as demanding as today. Travel professionals have always been and will always be the best asset for an organization. Skills, knowledge and abilities of travel professionals are more wide-ranging than ever. The industry’s standards are clear in the professional development opportunities for its workforce.

There are a variety of organizations which offer training and credentialing to the travel industry. Universities and community colleges offer hospitality programs leading to two and four year degrees, along with certificates. Training and professional development can also be obtained from external organizations whose business is focused on enhancing workforce professionalism, as well as in-house training from travel-related organizations.

Travel professionals have always been and will always be the best asset for an organization. Skills, knowledge and abilities of travel professionals are more wide-ranging than ever.

The following is a sampling of these organizations. This list does not seek to be comprehensive, as credentialing can be as extensive as the number of countries which offer travel opportunities. Courses are offered online, as well as in traditional brick and mortar classrooms. Online courses may be in real time and/or asynchronous.

Such technology affords interactive learning, a key for adult learners.

The Hotel School at the SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University www.sha.cornell.edu

• The only stand-alone hospitality program to earn Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation and the only hospitality program in the Ivy League. “The General Manag-

ers Program will definitely help me as I transition into larger roles with my company. It gave me a broader awareness of the complexity of our business, but also a new set of skills that I will need to be successful,” says Cory Johnson, Vice President, Cesar’s Palace Las Vegas.

Johnson and Wales Online www.onlineeducation.jwu.edu

• Recognized as a leader in hospitality education, Johnson & Wales University can help you develop the skills for success in the hotel, resort and lodging industry.

Our instructors have first-hand experience in the field, and their insight will give you a deeper understanding of what to expect in your future management role.

This program, which can be completed in four years, covers subjects such as revenue management, hotel strategic marketing, food and beverage systems, and other critical areas you need to comprehend.

• Recognized as among best online hospitality programs by U.S. News & World Report • Leads to Bachelor of Arts The Travel Institute www.thetravelinstitute.com

The Travel Institute offers a number of certifications for certified travel associates, counselors, executives and more. While many aspects of these certifications are unique to the industry, others are aligned with general business requirements: • After identifying your leadership style with the DISC Leadership Styles course [DISC is a model of behavior based on a person’s tendencies for Dominance, Inducement, Submission, Compliance]; the leadership core components (Becoming an Excellent Leader, Strategic Leadership and Transformational Leadership) are crafted to make you more effective, able to properly apply the organization’s core values, and meet the challenges and obstacles along the way.

• Developing strong co-workers, employees and a cohesive team involves guiding, encouraging and supporting them in their growth. Coaching and Team Building skills are important and give you the confidence to lead individuals and a strong company. Creativity will help you find new ways of doing business and getting the most from your staff.

• Knowing how your employees and coworkers think and “operate” and how to get the best work from these people is the essence of the Coping with Change and Emotional Intelligence training.

Using these personnel skills, you will soon be leading an organization that is a well-oiled machine.

Global Business Travel Association www.gbta.org

• GBTA Professional Development is designed to power the careers of business travel professionals using education and certification to fuel recognition and advancement. Education and training makes individuals more knowledgeable and competitive in the marketplace.

GBTA provides education for business travel professionals at every level of his/her career; whether they are new to business travel management or have decades of experience there is always a “next step” on the GBTA learning path.

American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute www.ahlei.org

• The Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA®) is the most prestigious certification available to hotel general managers and hospitality executives. It identifies the recipient as being part of an elite group of hospitality professionals who, by combining education and experience with dedication to the industry, have achieved a high level of expertise.

See Prof. Devel. pg. 30 www.ndtahq.com |

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CHAIRMAN’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, LLC + PLUS American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier + PLUS Amtrak + PLUS Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings + PLUS Bennett Motor Express, LLC + PLUS Boyle Transportation, Inc. + PLUS Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC + PLUS Crowley Maritime Corp. + PLUS Deloitte + PLUS FedEx + PLUS Final Mile Logistics + PLUS Freeman Holdings Group + PLUS Hapag-Lloyd USA, 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 National Air Cargo + PLUS Norfolk Southern Corporation + PLUS Omni Air International + PLUS Panalpina World Transport Ltd. + PLUS SAP Concur + PLUS Schuyler Line Navigation Company LLC + PLUS TOTE, Inc. + PLUS United Airlines + PLUS US Ocean + PLUS Western Global Airlines + PLUS AeroCapital, LLC BNSF Railway Bristol Associates Central Gulf Lines CEVA Logistics Choice Hotels International CSX Transportation CWTSatoTravel DHL Express Echo Global Logistics, Inc. 28

| Defense Transportation Journal | APRIL 2018

Global Logistics Providers LLC JM Ship, LLC KGL Holding La Quinta Inns & Suites Matson National Air Carrier Association Portus

SAIC Sealift, Inc. The Pasha Group Toll Global Forwarding Transportation Institute Tri-State U.S. Bank Freight Payment Union Pacific Railroad Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. 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 ArcBest 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. Best Western International Boeing Company C.L. Services, Inc.

REGIONAL PATRONS ACME Truck Line, Inc. Agile Defense, Inc. Alaska West Express Amyx Bollore Logistics C5T Corporation CakeBoxx Technologies Cartwright International Cavalier Logistics Ceres Terminals Incorporated Chassis King, Inc. Columbia Helicopters, Inc.

Chalich Trucking, Inc. Daybreak Express Delta Air Lines Enterprise Holdings Erickson Incorporated Estes Forwarding Worldwide, LLC Europcar Car & Truck Rental Eurpac Evanhoe & Associates, Inc. Extended Stay America Hotels FEDITC FlightSafety International General Dynamics/American Overseas Marine GeoDecisions Greatwide Truckload Management Green Valley Transportation Corp.

Hanjin Intermodal America, Inc. Hertz Corporation Hilton Worldwide IBM Intercomp Company Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) International Association of Movers International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), AFL-CIO International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots Keystone Shipping Co. KROWN1 FZC

Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. LMI 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 PTS Worldwide

Radiant Global Logistics Radisson Hotel Group Ramar Transportation, Inc. Roadrunner Transportation Systems Sabre Travel Network Savi Seafarers International Union of NA , AGLIW SEKO Aerospace & Aviation Skylease 1, Inc. Southwest Airlines St. Louis Union Station Hotel Curio Collection by Hilton The Parking Spot TMM, Inc. Transcor Transportation Intermediaries Assn. (TIA) Travelport TSA Transportation LLC TTX Company Tucker Company Worldwide, Inc. United Van Lines, Inc. USA Jet Airlines Vetcom Logistics Volga Dnepr Airlines Wally Park Wapack Labs Corporation Women In Trucking Association, Inc. XPO Logistics YRC Freight

Dalko Resources, Inc. DB Schenker Duluth Travel, Inc. (DTI) Enterprise Management Systems Erudite Company 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 NFI NovaVision Inc. Oakwood Worldwide Overdrive Logistics, Inc. Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Patriot Contract Services, LLC Philadelphia Regional Port Authority PITT OHIO Port Canaveral

Port of Port Arthur Seatac Marine Services Staybridge Suites McLean-Tysons Corner Hotel TechGuard Security Trans Global Logistics Europe GmbH

University McKendree University

www.ndtahq.com |

29

Cont’d from Prof. Devel. pg. 27 • Globally recognized, the CHA® is a highly respected professional credential that validates your advanced knowledge in the hospitality industry. It is an honor awarded to lodging professionals whose leadership and managerial abilities are exemplary.

• Achieving the CHA® certification announces that you have a place among the best in your profession, are abreast of current trends and latest hospitality protocols; and serves as leverage in current and future career opportunities.

Hertz Corporation www.hertz/jobs/benefits-rewards

• Our Learning & Development mission at Hertz Global is to provide the best and most relevant learning experiences for our employees at all levels, and across each and every one of our brands.

We believe that to be the best at renting cars, we have to have the best people.

We truly value our Learning & Development offering as being a critical strategic advantage in helping us achieve best-in-class people development.

• Hertz Global provides the highest level of training quality leveraging a range of solutions including instructor-led training, self-paced web based courses and on-the-job activities. We also provide a wide breadth of offerings for topics such as Customer Service and Sales, Commercial Sales, Management and Leadership and Safety and Compliance. At Hertz Global, you’ll have the opportunity to make your own development journey even better.

Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) www.defensetravel.dod.mil

DTMO provides a comprehensive set of resources to conduct training. These resources are continually reviewed, evaluated and updated. They include: • eLearning: Comprising Web-based training and Distance Learning.

• Instructor Resources: Access to the Enterprise Web Training System and courseware summary for instructors.

• Reference Materials: Manuals, quick reference materials, guides and information papers.

Many of our readers recently participated in these training programs at GovTravels 2018.

Industry associations also provide professional development training. In the aviation industry, the International Air Transportation Association offers an array of training. These include Travel Agency, Airline, Airport, and more.

As the travel industry continues to evolve, its people will need to evolve as well. Luckily, there is no shortage of opportunities for the learning and development needed to keep pace. DTJ

DTJ INDEX OF ADVERTISERS American President Lines, Ltd..........................31 American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC)..............2 Amtrak..............................................................3 Avis Budget Group...........................................15 Bennett Motor Express, LLC...............................4 CWTSatoTravel................................................19 eTRANSCOR....................................................13 FedEx Government Services.............................32 International Auto Logistics..............................11 La Quinta Inns & Suites...................................30 Landstar Transportation Logistics, Inc..............25 Oakwood Worldwide........................................10 ParkWhiz...........................................................7

La Quinta Inns & Suites

™

is proud to support

The National Defense Transportation Association as a Chairman’s Circle Industry Member

LQ.com/Military La Quinta and the Sunburst Q logo are registered trademarks of La Quinta Worldwide, LLC. Other marks are the property of their respective owners. © 2018 La Quinta Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

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