Greater efficiency sought: MTMC moving toward single headquarters structure
That was the message of Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, commander, Military Traffic Management Command at a March 15 meeting of the Washington Chapter of the National Defense Transportation Association.
Instead of headquarters structures in both Alexandria, Va., and Fort Eustis, Va., the command is reorganizing toward a single organization, said Privratsky.
"We need to push the staffs together," said Privratsky. "We can no longer work that way."
MTMC's headquarters is located in Alexandria. MTMC's Deployment Support Command, which exercises command and control over ports in the continental United States, Alaska and Puerto Rico, is located at Fort Eustis.
In the new organization forming up, there will be a single headquarters, said Privratsky, exercising control over the organization's 24 water ports and 2,200 employees. This will increase efficiency and eliminate as many as 200 positions - mostly from the Alexandria headquarters.
The command's operations center will be centralized at Fort Eustis. The workload of all other headquarters' staff will be centralized in Alexandria.
"MTMC will not be two commands," said Privratsky. "MTMC will be one command with its operations center at Fort Eustis."
The majority of the 200 positions that will be eliminated will be at the Alexandria headquarters, he said.
"I want you to have great respect for the people who are going through what they are going through," said Privratsky.
Changes will be phased in gradually with full completion by mid-2003.
The Deployment Support Command was formed Oct. 2, 1998, at Fort Eustis. It centralized some of the functions that had been performed at the Military Ocean Terminal Bayonne and the Oakland Army Terminal, sites of MTMC Eastern Area and MTMC Western Area, respectively. Both ports were closed in September 1999 as a result of the 1995 Base Realignment & Closure Commission.
A second area of major reinvention will be in MTMC's automation systems, said Privratsky.
"I've got great people working on systems that don't talk to each other," said Privratsky.
The Logistics Management Institute, of McLean, Va., is currently reviewing commercial off-the-shelf software for MTMC to determine if some may be substituted for existing systems.
Six major MTMC automation systems are under review. They include: Integrated Booking System, Global Freight Management, Worldwide Port System, Transportation Operational Personal Property Standard System, Asset Management System, and Group Operational Passenger System.
In the 18 months he has been in command, Privratsky pointed to a number of major accomplishments. They include:
· 5 percent cost saving in fiscal year 2000 and a 2.5 percent cost saving projected for the current fiscal year.
· Accomplishing the command's mission with 300 fewer positions than authorized.
· Cutting 10 days off the average time required to ship repair parts and supplies to Europe. The current standard of 40 days will be cut to 30 days within one year, he predicted.
· Standardized structures for MTMC's battalions and groups worldwide.
"I have never, ever, ever, in my life, worked in an organization that has taken on so much," said Privratsky. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND).
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