CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEF'S PRAISES NEW COMMANDER OF TRANSCOM

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Dempsey Emphasizes Trust as Selva Succeeds Fraser at Transcom

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2014 – Trust is at the core of any military, and U.S. Transportation Command is part of the glue of that trust, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said at the change of command at U.S. Transportation Command today
Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III passed the command flag to Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva during a ceremony on the parade field at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

“One of our military’s greatest strengths is that our people know … that when they ask for something, they’re going to get it,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “No matter the danger or the circumstance, they trust that what they need is on the way because it’s in the hands of Transportation Command.”

Dempsey told the men and women of Transportation Command that they are what make the U.S. military a global power, noting that once a combatant commander requests a capability, the men and women of Transcom deliver it. “That trust – even more than the materiel you deliver – makes us the strongest military that the world has ever known,” he said.

The chairman praised Fraser for his 40-year military career. “Regardless of the payload, the constant in your diverse career is that you’ve always delivered excellence,” he said. “Your leadership embodies all that we value in the profession: a commitment to the mission, to people, and to families … and to maintaining the delicate balance between mental, physical and spiritual strength.”
The general thanked the Frasers for their work on behalf of military families, especially for wounded warriors.

The chairman said he is pleased that Selva is moving into the job from the top post at Transcom’s Air Force component, Air Mobility Command. “You bring to Transcom a track record of excellence and a clear passion for the mission, the people and their families,” he said.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 21, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
CONTRACTS

AIR FORCE

ManTech SRS, Technologies, Inc., Arlington, Va., has been awarded a $15,515,683 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00024) to an existing contract (FA8811-10-C-0002) to exercise term one, option one for systems engineering, product assurance, program safety, systems security, risk management, and launch integration management for the Launch and Range Systems Directorate.  Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and is expected to be completed by March 22, 2015.  Fiscal 2013 procurement funds for $13,930,481 and 2014 operations and maintenance funds for $871,635 are being obligated at time of award.   Space and Missile Systems Center/LRK, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity.

ARMY

ASI Government, Inc., Arlington, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0018); Engility Corporation, Alexandria, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0019); Logistics Management Institute, McLean, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0020); Sysorex Government Services, Inc. *, Herndon, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0032); Suntiva, LLC*, Falls Church, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0033); and Zantech IT Services, Inc*., Tysons Corner, Va., (W52P1J-14-D-0034) were awarded a maximum $461,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract for program management support services for the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems headquarters, directorates, project/product offices and related organizations.  The contract will provide for the full range of program management support in the functional areas of project/product management; business process reengineering; information systems security; contingency planning; and physical security. Each company will receive a minimum guarantee of $20,000 and compete for task orders under the IDIQ. Funding and performance locations will be determined with each order. The estimated completion date is March 13, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with twenty-four received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity.

AAI Corp. Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded a $38,523,230 modification (P00120) to contract W58RGZ-08-C-0023 to purchase five tactical common data link retrofit kits and mobile maintenance facility spares sets for the shadow unmanned aircraft systems for the U.S. Marine Corps.  Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $38,523,230 were obligated at the time of the award.  Estimated completion date is May 31, 2017.  Work will be performed at Hunt Valley, Md.  Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

The Mason & Hanger Group, Inc., Lexington, Ky., was awarded a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architectural and engineering services, Army reserve projects nationwide and military projects within the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division mission boundaries.  Funding and performance location will be determined with each order.  Estimated completion date is March 20, 2019.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with thirty-two received.  Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-14-D-0007).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Government Scientific Source, Inc.,** Reston, Va., has been awarded a maximum $333,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for selection of distributor who will make available for purchase medical laboratory supplies and wares.  This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods.  This is a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received.  Location of performance is Virginia with a March 20, 2015 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM2DE-14-D-7350).


Raytheon Company, Space and Airborne Systems, McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $7,420,000 firm-fixed-price contract for system electronic units.  This is a sixteen-month base contract with no option periods.  This is a sole-source acquisition.  Location of performance is Texas with a July 31, 2015 performance completion date.  Using military service is Navy.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 Navy working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPRPA1-14-G-001X-1003).

NAVY

Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Sudbury, Mass., is being awarded a $45,057,874 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-13-C-5115) for the production of one AN/SPY-1D(V) Transmitter Group and select Missile Fire Control System MK 99 equipment to support Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Poland.  Work will be performed in Andover, Mass. (78.3 percent); Sudbury, Mass. (19.3 percent); Canada (1 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (0.9 percent); and Norfolk, Va. (0.5 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2016.  Fiscal 2014 defense procurement contract funds in the amount of $45,057,874 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Chugach Federal Solutions Inc.*, Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a $30,862,237 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for base operations support at various installations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest area of responsibility (AOR).  The maximum dollar value including the base period and five option periods performance is $275,822,190.  The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, all management and administration, visual services, security operations services, fire and emergency services, facilities management services, facility investment services, medical facility investment services, pest control services, integrated solid waste services, pavement clearance services, base support vehicle and equipment services, environmental services, and utilities services to provide base operations support services.  Work will be performed at various installations in the NAVFAC Northwest AOR including but not limited to, Washington (95 percent), Alaska (1 percent), Idaho (1 percent), Montana (1 percent), Oregon (1 percent), and Wyoming (1 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2014.  Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance, Navy; fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds; and fiscal 2014 defense health program contract funds in the amount of $11,239,788 will be obligated at time of award.  Funds in the amount of $6,583,257 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with nine proposals received.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Silverdale, Wash., is the contracting activity (N44255-14-D-9000).

Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, is being awarded $17,707,050 for modification 0044-01 to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00164-12-G-JQ66) for 19 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems for U.S. Navy MH-60R/S helicopters.  The system is an airborne, electro-optic, forward-looking infra-red, turreted sensor package that provides long-range surveillance, high altitude target acquisition, tracking, range-finding, and laser designation, and for all tri-service and NATO laser guided munitions.  Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by March 2016.  Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement Navy contract funds in the amount of $17,707,050 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, Calif., has been awarded a $30,673,934 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The work will support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program.  Work will be performed in Huntington Beach, Calif. (53 percent); Houston, Texas (13 percent); Redondo Beach, Calif. (13 percent); Santa Maria, Calif. (11 percent); Bothell, Wash. (2 percent); Simsbury, Conn. (5 percent); Titusville, Fla. (2 percent); Joplin, Mo. (1 percent); Ontario, Calif. (1 percent). The estimated completion date is Feb. 20, 2015.  Fiscal 2013 research and development funds in the amount of $22,041,570 are being obligated at time of award. The contracting activity is DARPA, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-14-C-0051).

U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

American Auto Logistics, Limited Partnership, Park Ridge, N.J., is being awarded a $25,000,000 delivery order modification to previously awarded delivery order DAMT01-03-D-0184-0009 to provide for Department of Defense-sponsored shipments of privately owned vehicles belonging to military service members and DOD civilian employees.  Work will be performed at multiple locations both within and outside of the continental U.S., with an expected completion date of April 30, 2014. Fiscal year 2014 Transportation Working Capital Funds of $25,000,000 are being obligated at the time of modification execution. The contracting activity is the U.S. Transportation Command Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.


*Small Business
**Veteran Owned Small Business

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR FEBRUARY 11, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
CONTRACTS

U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

Two contract modifications are being awarded under firm-fixed-price contracts for international airlift services.  The Alliance Contractor Team, Leesburg, Va., is being awarded an estimated $635,517,611 modification (P00019) to previously awarded contract HTC711-13-D-CC01.  Team members include: American Airlines, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas; North American Airlines, Inc., Jamaica, N.Y.; US Airways, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.; and World Airways, Inc., Peachtree City, Ga.  The Patriot Team, Tulsa, Okla., is being awarded an estimated $804,788,084 modification (P00010) under previously awarded contract HTC711-13-D-CC04.  Team members include: ABX Air Inc., Wilmington, Ohio; JetBlue Airways Corp., Long Island City, N.Y.; Kalitta Air LLC, Ypsilanti, Mich.; Northern Air Cargo, Anchorage, Alaska; Omni Air International Inc., Tulsa, Okla.; Sky Lease I, Greensboro, N.C.; Southern Air, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.; United Airlines Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.; and United Parcel Service, Louisville, Ky.  Work will be performed at worldwide locations and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2014.  Fiscal 2014 transportation working capital funds are being obligated on individual task orders.  The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

AIR FORCE

Exelis Systems Corp., Systems Division, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., has been awarded a $38,299,490 cost-plus-award-fee modification (P00928) on an existing contract (F04701-01-C-0001) for launch and test range system support functions to the Eastern Range and Western Range:  range sustainment, external user support, projects and engineering services.  The modification extends the basic contract with a maximum period of performance for six months.  Work will be performed at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and the work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2014.  Fiscal 2014 research and development and operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,196,476 are being obligated at time of award.  Space and Missile Systems Center/PKL, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Corp., Communication Systems West, Salt Lake City, Utah, has been awarded a $17,919,946 delivery order (0003) on an existing firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable contract (FA8620-13-G-4051) for supply of SATCOM Terminals, Test and Monitor Sub-Systems, Satellite Earth Terminal Sub-Systems (SETTS) Site Monitor and Radomes for the United States, United Kingdom and France.  Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the work is expected to be completed by Feb. 11, 2016.  This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition.  This contract award supports 67 percent unclassified foreign military sales and 33 percent fiscal 2012 and 2013 aircraft procurement funds on a multi-year contract.  Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WIIK, Medium Altitude Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, Ga., has been awarded a $8,049,493 modification (P00199) on an existing firm-fixed-price contract (FA8625-11-C-6597) for contractual support including Technical/Engineering/Logistics Support Data, Reliability & Maintainability Program, field service, logistics support, ground maintenance system administrator representatives, contractor maintenance teams, tech manual contract requirements, and aircrew teachback training courses.  Work will be performed at Marietta, Ga., and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2016.  Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement and 2014 research and development funds in the amount of $8,049,493 are being obligated at time of award.  Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLNNC, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

NAVY

Data Link Solutions LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a $24,996,802 firm-fixed-price-incentive, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Multi-functional Information Distribution System (MIDS) on Ship (MOS) Modernization (MOS MOD).  This contract covers the development, fabrication, integration, testing and delivery of MOS MOD systems, which will be developed to support both the MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System and the MIDS low volume terminal four for shipboard applications.   This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $66,294,150.  Work will be performed in Wayne, N.J. (52 percent) and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (48 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2017.  If all options are exercised, work could continue until February 2022.  Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $8,184,972 will be placed on contract and obligated at the time of award.  These funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the Commerce Business Daily’s Federal Business Opportunities website and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with two offers received.  The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00039-14-D-0004).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $10,906,165 modification to an existing delivery order against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0004) for security and integrated logistic support in support of the VH assistant program manager for logistics for the VH-3D and VH-60N presidential helicopters.  Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn. (88 percent) and Quantico, Va. (12 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2014.  Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of 10,906,165 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR JANUARY 3, 2014

FROM:  DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
January 03, 2014
CONTRACTS

U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

Pontaris, LLC,* Reston, Va., is being awarded an estimated $85,611,925 firm-fixed-price, multiple award, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for trucking services of sustainment and heavy cargo throughout Afghanistan.  This contract is a follow-on contract to the National Afghan Trucking contract.  Trucking services will be provided to and from multiple locations within Afghanistan, with an expected completion date of December 15, 2014.  Fiscal 2014 overseas contingency operation funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated at time of award.  Remaining funds will be obligated on individual task orders.  This contract was a competitive acquisition and 117 offers were received.  The U.S. Transportation Command, Acquisitions Directorate, Scott AFB, Ill is the contracting activity (HTC711-14-D-R039).

ARMY

Nakuuruq Solutions, LLC, Herndon, Va. was awarded a $21,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for machining, welding, fabrication & painting.  Funding will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Jan. 20, 2017.  Work will be performed at the Aberdeen Test Center at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received.  Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. is the contracting activity (W91CRB-14-D-0005).

NAVY

Raytheon Company, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $52,084,929 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-5405) for Design Agent Engineering and Technical Support Services for Phalanx, SeaRAM, and Land-based Phalanx Weapon Systems required for maintaineance, reliability, and improvements. PHALANX Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses.  The CIWS is an integral element of the Fleet Defense In-Depth concept and the Ship Self-Defense Program.  Operating either autonomously or integrated with a combat system, it is an automatic terminal defense weapon system designed to detect, track, engage, and destroy anti-ship missile threats penetrating outer defense envelopes.   Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by January 2015.  Fiscal 2014 other procurement Navy funding in the amount of $4,000,000 , research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $1,398,440, weapons procurement Navy funding in the amount of $1,071,849, fiscal 2013 weapons procurement Navy funding in the amount of $2,692,978,  Army funding in the amount of $1,493,606, shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding in the amount of $1,097,756 , fiscal 2012 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding in the amount of $358,057, fiscal 2011 shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $115,000 and fiscal 2010 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding in the amount of $332,929 will be obligated at time of award.  Contract funds in the amount of $4,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

* Small Business

U.S. DOD CONTRACTS FOR NOVEMBER 1, 2013

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

Institute for Defense Analysis, Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a maximum $888,757,811 five year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for research and analysis to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the joint staff, combatant commands, defense agencies, joint program offices, and other users as specified in the sponsoring agreement between OSD and IDA under the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) contract. Work will be performed primarily in Alexandria, Va. This contract was not competitively processed because it was obtained under the FFRDC program. The estimated completion date is Sept. 30, 2018. Washington Headquarters Services, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (HQ0034-14-D-0001).


U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

AAR Airlift Group Inc., Palm Bay, Fla., is being awarded modification 32 to task order 0001, and modification 23 to task order 0002 totaling $151,582,265 to previously awarded contract HTC711-10-D-R026 to exercise option year four for rotary wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2014. Funds are being obligated on monthly task order modifications. The U.S. Transportation Command Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity.

Columbia Helicopters Inc., Aurora, Ore., is being awarded modification 23 to task order 0002, and modification 18 to task order 0003 totaling $87,697,701 to previously awarded contract HTC711-11-D-R021 to exercise option year three for rotary wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2014. Funds are being obligated on monthly task order modifications. The U.S. Transportation Command Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity.

Construction Helicopters Inc., Howell, Mich., is being awarded a $33,602,864 modification 18 to previously awarded task order 0002 under contract HTC711-11-D-R022 to exercise option year three for rotary wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, andis expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2014. Funds are being obligated on monthly task order modifications. The U.S. Transportation Command Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, Calif., has been awarded a not-to-exceed $27,607,349 undefinitized contract action delivery order (0113) for an existing basic ordering agreement (FA8620-10-G-3038) for France’s MQ-9 UAS Contractor Logistics Support Phase I program. Work will be performed in Poway, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2014. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. This requirement is 100 percent foreign military sales for the Government of France. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WIIK, Medium Altitude Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Cubic Defense Applications Inc., San Diego, Calif., has been awarded a 24,999,949 firm-fixed-price contract for foreign military sales P5Combat Training System (P5CTS), combined hardware buy. Contractor will provide (P5CTS) hardware to provide an instrumented training capability that increases, maintains, and assesses combat proficiency in the following mission areas: counter air, close air support, strategic attack, air interdiction, and electronic combat. Work will be performed at San Diego, Calif., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and is expected to be complete by July 20, 2015. This award is a result of a sole-source acquisition. This award is for the governments of Singapore, Morocco, Oman and Saudi Arabia under the FMS program. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/EBYK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8678-14-C-0046).

L3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison Miss., has been awarded an estimated $22,049,546 modification (P00025) to exercise option year three of the firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contract (FA8106-11-D-0002) for C-12 contractor logistics support. Work will be performed worldwide at 19 sites to support C-12 aircraft for Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Material Command, Defense Intelligence Agency and Defense Security Cooperation Agency, consisting of maintenance, repair and support functions. The work is expected to be performed for one year, until Oct. 31, 2014. Funding is 85% fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, aircraft procurement and research and development funds, and 15% foreign military sales funds. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLKLC, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.

ARMY

Truetech, Inc., Riverhead, N.Y., was awarded a $17,912,955 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multi-year contract for the procurement of M8 chemical paper and M9 chemical paper. The M8 chemical paper is used to detect the presence of liquid chemical agents while M9 chemical paper is used by ground forces and is placed on personnel and equipment to identify the presence of liquid chemical agent aerosols. Work location and funding will be determined by each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, 2018. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting agency (W56HZV-14-D-0011).

Nauset Construction Corp., Needham, Mass., was awarded a $20,521,858 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new Unit Training Equipment Site and demolish the old facility and controlled humidity shelter in two separate phases for the Massachusetts National Guard. Work location is Buzzards’ Bay, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 17, 2015. Fiscal 2013 military construction funds in the amount of $20,521,858 are being obligated on award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with seven received. The National Guard Bureau Milford, Mass., is the contracting agency (W912SV-13-C-0007).

Leo Daly, Atlanta, Ga., (W912DY-14-D-0009); HDR, Charlotte, N.C., (W912DY-14-D-0010); and Ewing Cole, Philadelphia, Pa., (W912DY-14-D-0011) were awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price, multiple-award contract to provide continued architect-engineer design services in support of the Medical Repair and Renewal program. Work location and funding will be determined by each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2014. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with 36 received. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Ala. is the contracting agency.

NAVY

PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $23,246,532 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort contract (N00421-13-C-0007) to exercise an option for range engineering, operations and maintenance services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Divisions’ Atlantic Test Range and Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations Division. The estimated level of effort is 270,215 man-hours. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in February 2014. Navy working capital funds in the amount of $5,984,310 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Labatt Food Service, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $18,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for prime vendor full line food distribution. This is a one-year base contract. This contract is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is Texas with a Nov. 8, 2014 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM300-14-D-3715).

DOD'S NEW FIVE-YEAR STRATEGY REGARDING OPERATIONAL DEMANDS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Joint Enabling Capabilities Command Postures for Future Ops
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2013 - Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, the Defense Department's 911 call force for joint force headquarters operations and bridging joint operational requirements, is implementing a new, five-year strategy to position it for future operational demands, its commander reported.

The new strategy, "Force for Today, Force for the Future," is designed to better align the command with the priorities U.S. Transportation Command, its higher headquarters, began instituting last fall in its own five-year strategy, Navy Rear Adm. Scott A. Stearney said during a telephone interview from Norfolk, Va.

Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, Transcom's commander, unveiled the most-sweeping strategic planning effort in the command's 25-year history in October. In a nutshell, it aims to make Transcom the department's "transportation and enabling-capability provider of choice," Stearney said.

That goes beyond the transportation, airlift, sealift and distribution support Transcom is well known for, to include less-recognized but critical contributions like those provided by Joint Enabling Capabilities Command.

The JECC is DOD's "A team" for the capabilities needed to quickly stand up and operate a Joint Task Force, with experts in operations, plans, knowledge management, intelligence, logistics, communications and public affairs. They deploy anywhere in the world within just a few days' notice, organized in teams tailored to the specific combatant commander's mission to augment assets already on the ground.

"We send very high-performing, small, mission-tailored teams that are very experienced" in joint task force headquarters operations, Stearney said. "They bring those joint skill sets that are required to make those task forces truly joint."

The JECC and its three support elements -- joint planning, joint communications and joint public affairs -- have supported every major military operation since 9/11. That has ranged from contingency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in Pakistan, Haiti and Japan. Most recently, the command supported Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in the United States and operations in U.S. Africa Command with its supporting role to the French in Mali.

Based on a year-long review, the new strategy aims to increase the JECC's capability by more closely aligning it to combatant commanders' requirements.

"The nuance here is that we look to an end state where we are even more connected and more interdependent with the combatant commanders we operate with," Stearney said.

The strategy focuses on four additional areas:

-- Training and building experience to be ready to respond to emergent joint operations;

-- Engaging with combatant command customers to prepare and enable seamless joint force headquarters solutions;

-- Innovating with an eye to expanding joint force commanders' expeditionary command-and-control capability; and

-- Operating in complex environments with high-performing, mission-tailored teams that Stearney said "provide the right force at the right time to meet and accomplish global mission requirements."

"The end state is that we are going to deliver unmatched joint operational command-and-control enablers to the joint force commanders who are conducting full-spectrum military operations," he said. "This strategy leverages the JECC core competencies and targets those capabilities most needed by our combatant command customers when resources are tight, time is short and risk is high."

Stearney and his team now plan to develop directives that spell out how the strategy will be implemented.

With strict belt-tightening measures underway, he said this process will help the JECC prioritize its efforts to best support its mission and those of the combatant commands it supports. This will be particularly important, he said, in the event that more cuts are required.

"But in my view, the JECC is already a high-value and highly efficient organization," Stearney said. "We are very lean in the headquarters and have just enough to get our mission done. We try to put most of our muscle and our personnel, as well as our resources, into the elements."

Looking to the future, Stearney said he sees no downturn in the appetite for the specialized skills and experience those elements provide. The defense strategy and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's Capstone Concept for Joint Operations both recognize that contingency operations are likely to become more -- not less -- frequent in the decade ahead, he noted.

Whether for combat operations or a response to a humanitarian disaster, U.S. military forces will be called on to provide support, he said. And wherever they operate, it will almost assuredly be as a joint force that deploys with little advance notice and hits the ground running.

That means they'll need a command-and-control structure able to spring into action with them at full throttle -- the forte of the JECC.

"We provide the rapid joint task force enabling capabilities for the Department of Defense as a 911 force that provides these skill sets to any type of JTF that would stand up as a result of any type of emerging crisis," Stearney said. "It doesn't matter if it's Pacific Command or Central Command or Southern Command or another command. We support them all."

And during the next five years, he said, the JECC "will assume an expanded role in how our nation responds to emergent global events."

THE LOGISTICS OF THE DRAWDOWN IN AFGHANISTAN

Army Sgt. Andrew Markley, materiel redistribution yard noncommissioned officer for Forward Operating Base Sharana, signals for a rough terrain container handler to move containers at his facility. U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Henry Chan

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Centcom Undertakes Massive Logistical Drawdown in Afghanistan

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
TAMPA, Fla., June 21, 2013 - Two years ago, as commander of U.S. Forces-Iraq, Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III was marching against a strict Dec. 31, 2011 deadline to complete the largest logistical drawdown since World War II.

It was a mammoth undertaking, involving troop redeployments and equipment retrogrades that had peaked at the height of coalition operations in 2007 and 2008. At that time, the United States had 165,000 service members and 505 bases in Iraq – all packed to the gills with everything from weapons systems and computers networks to bunking and dining facilities.

Austin had to reduce the force to zero, collaborating with U.S. Central Command to determine whether equipment should return to the United States or be transferred to the Iraqis or sent to Afghanistan to support the war effort there.

Centcom, in lockstep with U.S. Transportation Command and its service components, redeployed the 60,000 troops who remained in Iraq at the time and more than 1 million pieces of equipment ahead of their deadline.

Then-Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, commemorating the end of America's military mission in Iraq at a mid-December 2011 ceremony in Baghdad, praised Austin for conducting "one of the most complex logistical undertakings in U.S. military history."

"Your effort to make this day a reality is nothing short of miraculous," Panetta told Austin.
Today, as the Centcom commander, Austin is facing an even more-daunting challenge as he carries out a larger, more complex drawdown operation, in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's geography, weather and security situation and its limited transportation infrastructure present bigger obstacles than planners ever faced in Iraq, Scott Anderson, Centcom's deputy director for logistics and engineering, said during an interview at the command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base here.

Also, there's also no other combat operation to transfer the mountain of logistics to. Everything has to be transferred to the Afghans, sold to a partner nation, destroyed so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, or returned to the United States, Anderson noted.

First and foremost among the challenges is Afghanistan's landlocked location. There's no ready access to a seaport, and no Kuwait next door, providing an initial staging point for retrograde operations as it did during the Iraq drawdown.

"Kuwait was our 'catcher's mitt,'" Anderson said. "If you were to ask me how long it takes to retrograde out of Iraq, I would say as long as it takes to get across the border to Kuwait."
In contrast, there's no similar "catcher's mitt" for Afghanistan, he said. "Leaving Afghanistan, you can't just go next door to Pakistan or up into Uzbekistan and park. Once the movement begins, you have to keep moving, and the velocity continues until [the shipment] gets home to the U.S."

Outgoing shipments -- about 1,000 pieces of rolling stock and more than 2,000 cargo containers per month -- are moving primarily by air or through ground routes across Pakistan, Eastern Europe and Western Asia known as the Northern Distribution Network, Anderson reported.

When flying equipment out from Afghanistan,"multimodal transport" is the most-favored option. It involves an initial movement to one country, usually by air, then a transfer to another conveyance such as a ship for the rest of the trip.

The shortest and least-expensive ground routes out of Afghanistan pass through Pakistan to its port in Karachi. Centcom and Transcom used the "Pakistan ground lines of communication" for about 70 percent of Afghanistan-bound shipments until the Pakistan government abruptly closed them in November 2011 for seven months over a political dispute, Anderson said.

That forced the United States to make greater use of the Northern Distribution Network, an elaborate network of rail, sealift and trucking lines established in 2009, to sustain forces in Afghanistan, he said. It continues to provide about 80 percent of all sustainment operations.

With agreements in place to channel an ever-increasing amount of retrograde cargo through Pakistan, Anderson said Centcom is satisfied that it has ample capacity to support the drawdown.

But recognizing lessons learned, he said the United States wants to keep every possible exit route open to ensure no single "point of failure" can disrupt the effort. "If you lose a route, you lose capacity," he said. "So you keep your options open. That's why we look to maintain redundant routes and we want to keep those routes 'warm' by using them."

Yet for now, only about 4 percent of retrograde equipment is flowing through the Northern Distribution Network.

One reason, Anderson explained, is that the vast majority of U.S. forces now are operating in eastern Afghanistan, which is closer to Pakistan than the NDN. "The majority of our cargo simply isn't leaving the northern part of Afghanistan," he said.

To get it across Afghanistan to the NDN involves crossing the towering Hindu Kush mountain range -- a logistical challenge that becomes monumental during the winter months.

But there are other complications to making greater use of the Northern Distribution Network, particularly for many of the shipments that initially entered Afghanistan via Pakistan or by air, Anderson explained.

Some of the physical infrastructure simply can't accommodate the heavy equipment being moved. Many of the countries involved have strict rules about what kinds of equipment can and can't transit through their territory -- with particular objection to weapons systems and combat vehicles. In some cases, nations will allow these shipments to cross into their borders -- but only if the contents are covered.

"For retrograde, we have had to renegotiate agreements with all the Central Asian nations" that make up the Northern Distribution Network, Anderson said. "It may not be as viable as route as we would like, but the bottom line is, we need it."

Anderson said he's optimistic that the retrograde is on schedule to meet President Obama's directive that the current force -- about 60,000 -- reduce to 34,000 by February.

"Between now and February, we are going to have a substantial amount of cargo move," he said. Calling the February deadline "achievable," he called it an important milestone toward the Dec. 31 deadline.

Meanwhile, Centcom leaders recognize the operational requirements that continue in Afghanistan, including upcoming elections next spring.

"Some of the equipment that we would otherwise be retrograding must remain because there is an operational imperative there," Anderson said. "So in everything we do, we are working to maintain this balance between operations going on in Afghanistan -- folks who need their vehicles and equipment -- and our ability to retrograde."

Emphasizing that Centcom will continue to sustain forces on the ground throughout drawdown operations, Anderson said signs of the transition underway will become increasingly evident over time.

U.S. bases, which once numbered more than 600, are down to about 100, some closed but most now transferred to the Afghan National Security Forces. Much of the equipment is being shared as well, although strict U.S. laws dictate what kinds of equipment can be transferred to the Afghans or any other partners, Anderson noted.

There's another consideration to weigh: leaving equipment the Afghans can't maintain over the long haul does them no good. "If we know there will be challenges in maintaining what we give them, then giving them more equipment is not going to help," Anderson said.

Meanwhile, Centcom will strive to maintain the highest quality of life for U.S. forces on the ground throughout the drawdown, he said.

One seemingly small change, however, is sending a big signal of what's ahead. Rather than three hot meals each day, U.S. forces in Afghanistan are now getting Meals, Ready to Eat for their mid-day rations.

The idea, Anderson explained, is to use up what's already available in the theater, particularly when shipping it home costs more than it's worth.

"Every day, [Marine] Gen. [Joseph F.] Dunford [Jr., commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan], sits down at lunch like everyone else and eats his MRE," Anderson said. "It sets a tremendous example." In a small way, he said, it sets the tone for the entire drawdown process.

"We are doing the drawdown in a balanced way, and with concern about the taxpayers' money," Anderson said. "We want to do this in the most economical, most efficient way possible, without causing excess or waste." 
 

U.S. TRANSCOM COMMAND CHIEF SAYS SEQUESTER WILL NOT AFFECT DRAWDOWN IN AFGHANISTAN

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chris Kusnierz watches his sectors of fire during Operation Bullseye in Kajaki in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Feb. 27, 2013. Kusnierz, a machine gunner, is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7. Troops conducted the Afghan-led operation to clear Pay Sang village. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kowshon Ye

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Transcom Chief: Sequester Won't Affect Afghan Drawdown
By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2013 - The chief of U.S Transportation Command told Congress today that cuts in defense spending triggered by the budget sequester should not have an impact on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and materiel from Afghanistan, but may have other "unintended" consequences.

Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III told members of the House Armed Services Committee that bringing equipment and personnel home from Afghanistan as part of a planned drawdown over the coming months is a concern because of the impact of $46 billion in defense cuts triggered by the sequester.

However, Fraser said, "There has been direction by the department to ensure that the resources are there which should cover the retrograde that we're talking about."

Apart from the impact of sequestration, the ability to withdraw troops and equipment from landlocked Afghanistan, where the U.S.-led NATO mission is set to expire at the end of next year, has been a concern, given the history of the country's border with Pakistan, through which much of the materiel is expected to transit.

For months last year, the Pakistani government closed overland routes into Afghanistan in response to a cross-border attack by NATO forces in November 2011 that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

During questioning, Fraser told lawmakers he concluded a visit to Pakistan last month "encouraged" about the border situation.

"We're going to continue to ramp up," he told legislators, and that "everything seems to be moving in the right direction with lots of different lanes ... and that we do have the resources."

However, Fraser was less sanguine about the impact the budget sequester will have on the military in general.

"The lack of budget certainty right now is going to have an unintended consequence on our command," he said, especially for commercial partners who contract with Transcom.

The military budget situation also raises a readiness issue, he added, by increasing "our risk in the future to respond in a very timely manner."

Based at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, Transcom oversees the Defense Department's global air, land and sea transportation and distribution enterprise, providing the military with global mobility.

21ST CENTURY MILITARY COURIERS

Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Adler, right, goes over customer service training with Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Evan Seller at the Defense Courier Station at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall, Great Britain, Feb. 14, 2012. Adler is one of six airmen and Seller one of four sailors assigned to the station, one of 18 operated around the world by U.S. Transportation Command's Defense Courier Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jerilyn Quintanilla

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Couriers Ensure Prompt, Secure Delivery of Classified Materials
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Nov. 7, 2012 - A vintage 12-inch action figure now found only on the Internet depicts the stereotypical defense courier, complete with a black brief case, handcuffs, cell phone and secret papers.

Air Force Col. Darryl Stankevitz, chief of U.S. Transportation Command's Defense Courier Division, quickly dispels the "G.I. Joe Defense Courier" image as he kicks off orientation classes here for service members selected to join the elite corps of defense couriers.

"I tell them, 'You all thought that when you were coming out here that you would get your own briefcase and set of handcuffs,'" he said. "Well that's not it. That's not how we really operate."

With a heritage dating back to the Military Postal Express Service that moved highly classified and sensitive mail abroad during World War I, the Defense Courier Division remains true to its original mission.

"We move anything that is highly sensitive or classified that our government needs us to move," Stankevitz said. "It can be anything from an envelope all the way up to large crypto[logical] equipment that's thousands of pounds."

One might think the development of the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, better known as SIPRNet, would make most personal deliveries a thing of the past.

Not so, Stankevitz said. That's because the vast quantity of highly classified messages, documents and images the Defense Department relies on to conduct its day-to-day business would consume so much computer bandwidth that it would overwhelm the classified network, he said.

"There is still a lot of material that must be physically hand-delivered -- partly to ensure that the SIPRNet can keep going," Stankevitz explained. "Given how much has to be transmitted, real-time, for different operations and events going on, sometimes there's more that needs to be moved than you can physically do, electronically.

"And it is actually quicker for us, at times, to move some of that physically with our couriers, because of the volume of what we are carrying," he added.

In addition, many of the courier deliveries involve equipment used to run the Defense Department's secure networks and cryptologic operations, he said.

"These are items that have to be kept secure while in transit," Stankevitz said. "It's not something that you can put in the mail or hand off to [a commercial parcel service] because there could be a risk of tampering in transit. That's why we need to send a courier."

The 235 soldiers, sailors and airmen who make up the Defense Courier Division are assigned to 18 stations around the world that maintain 24/7 operations and several other substations. Collectively, according to John McAllister, deputy director, they move about 1.5 million pounds of material annually -- made up of about 80,000 pieces ranging from envelopes, referred to as "flats," to giant crates transported using the division's own vans, trucks and tractor trailers.

Although the "James Bond" mystique may be misleading, the couriers operate according to a strict Transcom instruction designed to protect the classified material they handle, store and transport. Working in two-person teams, they are required to maintain constant physical or visual contact with their shipments. The couriers can't be out of each other's sight for more than 15 minutes. And contrary to popular assumption, they carry weapons only when traveling through a combat zone.

Couriers typically fly on military, contract or commercial aircraft. But increasingly, especially for deliveries within the continental United States and Europe, they drive the shipments themselves using the courier division's own fleet of vans, trucks and tractor trailers, Stankevitz said.

"Even though you may think traveling by air would be faster, sometimes you have to rely on the availability of aircraft and their timing," he noted. "So sometimes it is actually quicker and more convenient for us to use one of our vehicles and drive it on the road."

McAllister said he spends much of his time planning out missions in the courier division's operations center. "What are we carrying? How big is it and where does it need to go?" he said. "Those are really the only questions we need to know. We don't need to know what's in the package."

In fact, couriers never know what they are carrying. "What we do know is that it is all highly sensitive material," Stankevitz said. "It's some of the most-sensitive material that our nation has."

Just as computers have changed the nature of many courier shipments, they have helped make the process faster and more efficient. Introducing technology similar to that used by commercial shipping companies, courier division planners now consolidate shipments whenever possible so they can dispatch a single courier team to make deliveries to a single destination.

"Ten years ago, every station was independent," McAllister said. "But over the years, there has been greater and greater visibility through a centralized command center. We set up a network and started to merge requirements."

Planners now collaborate with the State Department's Diplomatic Courier Service, particularly when servicing countries where the U.S. military has no status of forces agreement, McAllister said.

"It all comes down to, what needs to move and who is in the best position to move it, through the interagency," he added. "So we do a lot of cooperation through the interagency to make the most-efficient move possible."

These and other efficiencies have made a big impact in the courier division's bottom line, Stankevitz said, eliminating duplication and reducing costs. Adopting a new air transportation system saved the division $1 million a year, he noted, while having couriers hitch rides on other Transcom air missions eliminated the need for a $4.3 million air carrier and air taxi service contract.

"We've become much more efficient in the way we do business," Stankevitz said. "Our operating cost, which directly ties to what we charge our customers, has dropped about 40 to 45 percent, because of actions we took."

As he's witnessed evolution within the Defense Courier Division, Air Force Master Sgt. Delano Lucas still calls it the best job a service member could ever have.

Like all couriers, he came to the field from another military specialty, in his case, he said, attracted by the "chance to do something different." He added what's kept him in the career field has been the opportunity to broaden his military portfolio while working in a joint command.

"When you are progressing through the grades, your potential is based on not only what you have done, but your potential to lead effectively in the next grade," he said. "And what better way of actually displaying that talent and character trait than by going and executing in something that is outside your normal [career field]?"

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Moon said he "jumped at the chance" to join the courier division 14 years ago and has never looked back. He currently serves as chief of the Baltimore Station at Fort Meade, Md., the largest of 18 worldwide, where he oversees 35 fellow couriers.

"It's much better than I could have expected or hoped for," he said.

McAllister summed up much of the allure. "Traveling the world delivering top-secret material. It is not a bad way to tell your cousins what you do," he said.

Another big motivator, Lucas said, has been the opportunity to operate almost autonomously with a level of responsibility rarely afforded a mid-level or senior noncommissioned officer.

"[Couriers] are not only seeing a lot of things and doing something different, but they have an incredible amount of responsibility -- just those two people carrying some of the most-sensitive material that our nation has," he said.

Stankevitz agreed, adding, "Being entrusted with that is a huge responsibility."

It's a responsibility he expects to continue long into the future.

"Changing requirements may change how we operate and where we operate out of, but we will still continue to operate," Stankevitz said. "Overall, we are still going to see a demand for our business for the foreseeable future."

CHANGES ON THE WAY FOR U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, unveils his command's five-year strategic plan designed to guide the command as it evolves to meet future challenges, Oct. 12, 2012. U.S. Transportation Command photo by Bob Fehringer

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Transcom Transforms for Changing Global Requirements

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Nov. 5, 2012 - Putting in place the most-sweeping strategic planning effort in U.S. Transportation Command's 25-year history, Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, Transcom commander, said his organization is revolutionizing the way the military deploys, sustains and redeploys its forces around the globe.

Fraser assumed his post overseeing the Defense Department's global air, land and sea transportation enterprise in October 2011. It was a year of unprecedented geopolitical change across the Middle East and Northern Africa; the massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan; the logistical drawdown in Iraq and surge operations in Afghanistan.

In every case, Fraser noted, the combatant commanders responsible for these and every other effort the military conducted turned to Transcom and its unmatched transportation and distribution capabilities to carry out their missions.

Speaking with American Forces Press Service in his headquarters office here, Fraser said he's been amazed that the people of Transcom, including its service components and commercial and international partners, make such a daunting task look almost easy.

During any given day, he said, the command oversees 100 rail car shipments, 26 ships underway and another nine ships being loaded or offloaded, 2,000 truck cargo shipments, 2,000 household goods movements, 900 airlift sorties, 97 operational air refueling sorties, seven air evacuation sorties and 30 courier deliveries.

"It is fascinating that we are able to do what we do the way that we do it, and I think others enjoy being able to turn to us to provide them options to ... accomplish their mission," Fraser said.

Transcom was never envisioned as a permanent combatant command when it initially stood up in 1987. It was meant to be a planning headquarters, to be activated only in wartime to deal with the associated transportation and logistics challenges.

Operation Desert Storm -- the largest deployment of U.S. troops and equipment since the Vietnam War -- changed that thinking. "There came a realization that you really need to do in peace what you do in war," Fraser said.

So for the past two decades, Transcom has matured its processes, evolving into what Fraser calls a "world-class, joint deployment and distribution enterprise that provides unfailing support to our warfighters and their families around the globe."

The challenge now, he said, is that what has worked so well in the past isn't necessarily the best formula for the future -- particularly in light of budgetary constraints and changing support requirements as the United States draws down in Afghanistan.

"We are at a point in time where things are going to be different," Fraser said. "We are not going to be as engaged in as many areas constantly, and there is not going to be as much business."

That, he acknowledged, is one of Transcom's big challenges moving forward.

A state-of-the-art global transportation and distribution enterprise simply can't be turned on and off like a spigot, he explained.

The enterprise, Fraser said, relies on ready, well-oiled capabilities within Transcom's organic assets, provided by the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Military Sealift Command, Air Mobility Command and Joint Enabling Capabilities Command.

Not as well recognized, he noted, is the key role commercial partners play: contributing ships, cargo space, aircraft and logistics support to complement what the military provides.

"We really rely upon our commercial partners," Fraser said. "They provide tremendous capability to us, when we need it and where we need it, and we are able to capitalize upon their infrastructure and the capabilities they have to accomplish our mission."

The general said Transcom's new strategy recognizes the importance of keeping its organic and commercial enterprises viable so they're able to support future missions -- whether for humanitarian assistance and disaster response or kinetic operations.

The way to do that, Fraser said, is to remain the uncontested "transportation provider of choice" that combatant commanders keep busy supporting their exercises and engagements, even as wartime requirements decrease.

So as it strives to preserve readiness capability, Transcom is focusing on improving its business model to better align resources and processes to support the mission, Fraser said. For example, he noted, the command is investing heavily in information technology to give leaders the tools to make the best -- and when feasible, lowest-cost -- options as they make transportation and logistics decisions.

And in what Fraser said he considers one of the most important engines for change, Transcom is looking inward, to transform its workforce into "enterprise-focused professionals." The goal, he explained, is to encourage collaboration, build trust and empower people to make decisions and inspire innovation.

That makes each and every member of Transcom a partner in transforming the command for the future, Fraser said. "I feel that this sets us up for success, because the workforce has all been a part of this," he said. "They have been part of the process, they bought into the process and they understand where we are going to go, why we are going where we are going and how we are preparing for the future."

Fraser said he's already seeing the difference this emphasis is making. And based on past performance, he said, he's convinced that the men and women of Transcom will continue to live up to their motto, "Together, we deliver."

"It really is about people," Fraser said. "Because it takes all of us to provide whatever is needed -- humanitarian supplies, disaster response, responding to a crisis ... or sustaining the forces.

"Wherever that may be, they know that we are going to deliver," he said. "And it is all of us doing it. It is the people that are making that happen – and will continue to, into the future."

U.S. TRANSPORTAION COMMAND GETTING READY FOR POST-WAR FUTURE

FROM: U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, rolls out his new five-year strategy Oct. 12, 2012, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. The strategy is the most comprehensive and collaborative in the command's 25-year history. The heart of the new strategic plan is to ensure United States can deploy, sustain and redeploy its forces as effectively and efficiently as possible. U.S. Transportation Command photo by Bob Fehringer
New Strategy to Posture Transcom for Post-war Future

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2012 – A new, five-year strategic plan unveiled today at U.S. Transportation Command will posture it to ensure the military maintains its global mobility edge entering a post-war future, Air Force Brig. Gen. John E. Michel, Transcom’s chief change and learning strategist, told American Forces Press Service.

Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, Transcom’s commander, shared the most-sweeping strategic planning effort in the command’s 25-year history today with his staff at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and, via teleconference, with all of Transcom’s components and partners around the globe.

Calling the plan "a vision for smart change," Fraser said its bottom line is to enhance a capability unique to the United States: "the extraordinary ability to rapidly project national power and influence -- anywhere, at any time."

Fraser praised his organization for its hard work and dedication that has sustained the force over the past decade of conflict. But looking ahead, he emphasized that Transcom will remain the crucial, although largely unsung, driving force behind everything the military does.

"Transcom is the secret sauce of every other combatant command," said Michel, who led the strategy development effort. "We make others go. We are kind of invisible, but you can’t get to the fight, you can’t be sustained in the fight, and you can’t return to the fight unless we are there to make it happen."

As the United States draws down forces in Afghanistan and "pivots" toward the Asia-Pacific, that applies whether "the fight" involves humanitarian assistance and natural disaster responses, civic-action engagements or kinetic operations, he said.

Posturing for that future, particularly in light of fiscal uncertainties, took some serious soul-searching at Transcom, Michel explained. He and his team spent nine months developing the new strategy -- the command’s first to span more than a single year. They reviewed every process and procedure, he said, leaving no stone unturned as they challenged basic assumptions about how the command operates and allocates its resources.

It also required an analysis of what the future will look like and what demands are likely to be put on Transcom.

"The expectation of Transcom comes down to, we have to be able to project national power and influence. We provide the mobility … that makes that happen, " Michel said. "So an effort like this asks, ‘What are the conditions of the future and how can we go farther, faster and more efficiently than we have ever done before?’"

Toward that end, the new strategy identifies four basic priorities.
-- Preserve readiness capability through both organic and commercial assets. Michel called ensuring unparalleled global mobility Transcom’s "no-fail business," regardless of the nature of the mission it supports. "It is what we do in response to anything that happens in the world where America wants to have a presence," he said.

-- Guaranteeing access to information technology to promote good decision-making. "In the future, the question becomes: ‘How do we get people the information we can, in a timely fashion so they can make smart choices?’" Michel said. "I don’t care if they are in Afghanistan, in Washington or down the hall. We are in a world awash in data. So how can we help turn that data into something meaningful?"

-- Improve Transcom’s business model, better aligning resources and processes to support the mission. The new strategy introduces "a whole new corporate governance process," Michel said, with a commitment to create efficiencies and reduce operating costs. "We need to come up with up with a reinvigorated process … to improve the internal work we do, to make sure we continue to be world-class in delivering what others expect of us," he said.

-- Develop "enterprise-focused professionals" within a work culture focused on customer requirements. The biggest strength within Transcom isn’t its aircraft, ships and moving parts, Michel emphasized. It’s the people behind them. "So we are in the process of creating a culture that focuses on serving others," he said. "It all begins and ends with people."

"Transformation of this magnitude will not be easy," Fraser recognized in releasing the new strategy, "especially given the rapidly changing operating environment and the challenging fiscal landscape

"But we clearly recognize change is necessary," Fraser continued. "We will build on past successes and position ourselves to reliably deploy, sustain and redeploy your nation’s forces more effectively and efficiently -- all while keeping a keen eye on improving collaboration and creating a climate of trust, innovation and empowerment throughout our workforce."

Working toward priorities identified in the new strategy, Transcom will shape itself to better provide that support, regardless of what command or organization requires its serves, Michel said.

"I don’t care if I am doing that in Africa or I am doing that in Guam," he said. "People want to be able to reach Transcom. They want to really quickly be able to say what they need and have Transcom move into action."

Ensuring that process goes as smoothly, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible is the heart of the new strategic plan, he said. It provides a blueprint that leverages the command’s strengths and identifies areas for improvement to better-translate customer requirements into "the most appropriate, cost-effective modality to achieve the effect they want," he said.

"We have to be much more deliberate and thoughtful about how we position ourselves for the future. That’s why it was important for Transcom to undertake what we are proud to say is the most comprehensive strategic planning and change effort ever," Michel summarized.

"With this plan, we have a clear understanding of where we are today," he said, "and we are pretty compelled about where we need to go tomorrow."