USTRANSCOM's J4 directorate one of the keys to the command's success
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- U.S. Transportation Command's J4, part of the Operations and Logistics Directorate J3/J4, plays a crucial role in USTRANSCOM's leadership of the defense transportation system.
Up until 1997, TCJ4 consisted of only about 35 people, with just two divisions. However, a major J3/4 reorganization in 1997 fundamentally reshaped the J4 mission. That reorganization transferred elements from TCJ3 relating to the Global Transportation Network and mobility systems, realigned the acquisition function which previously resided in the Chief Counsel's office, created a new organization to oversee the incorporation of better business practices into the DTS, and established an SES as the deputy to the J3/4. Today, the organization consists of 4 divisions with authorized end strength of 95 people.
"We're responsible for the operational logistics side of the command," says Frank Weber, deputy director J-4, "the operating procedures and practices of the Defense Transportation System to include the Defense Transportation Regulation, customs processes and those other policies and procedures that support our operators within the headquarters and the component commands. Our job is to help them do their job better, easier and more efficiently."
"We serve as the functional proponent for DOD ITV and the Global Transportation Network, representing the needs of DTS customers worldwide who require timely and accurate in-transit visibility to support their peacetime and wartime missions. These customers include individual units, bases and installations, and command centers throughout DOD," he says.
TCJ4's Logistics Program Division (LP) headed by Air Force Col. Ray Hebert is heavily engaged with the GTN Program Management Office, the TCJ6 and others in Global Transportation Network in shaping the next generation of ITV through the GTN 21 program. They developed and manage the command's Automated Information Technology program, a CINC directed action to ensure implementation of AIT capabilities -- Radio Frequency interrogators, barcodes and other devices -- throughout USTRANSCOM aerial and sea ports worldwide.
LP is also responsible for DOD's Electronic Data Interchange program for transportation, which is critical to ensuring our ability to exchange movements information between commercial industry and GTN. They also serve as USTRANSCOM's focal point for the Transportation Coordinators Automated Information Management System II (TC AIMS II) program.
J4 is the executive agent for the Department of Defense customs and border clearance program, a mission assigned to USTRANSCOM by the Department of Defense in 1997.
The Transportation Management Division (TCJ4-LT) is under the management of Barry Smithey.
"Customs will never be something that will go like clockwork," Weber points out, "but there's a tremendous amount that we can and have done to improve that process that translates directly into velocity and support to our customers."
LT also oversees command participation in the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) and Joint Container Exercise Programs and is the USTRANSCOM focal point for implementation of reengineered transportation billing and documentation processes directed by OSD as a result of Management Reform Memorandum #15. In addition, they are responsible for conducting a detailed evaluation of several ongoing DOD personal property pilot programs, leading to a USCINCTRANS recommendation to OSD later this year.
Responsibility for daily oversight of the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative (SDMI) rests with Air Force Lt. Col. Tye Beasley and his team within TCJ4-SD. SDMI is a major effort initiated 18 months ago by USCINCTRANS and the director of DLA. Its goal is to improve the speed and reliability of DOD's worldwide distribution system by integrating the wholesale supply and transportation processes, and linking these efforts with theater distribution operators to get materiel to the end user where and when it's needed.
SDMI is having a dramatic impact on how we do business throughout the defense transportation system to include peacetime and wartime operations, financial processes and systems integration. The role of TCJ4-SD is to coordinate and shape the activities of a myriad of players -- including other headquarters elements, the component commands, service and defense agencies -- to institutionalize the process changes identified as a result of various ongoing pilots and analysis.
The largest and most diverse division within TCJ4 is the Business and Acquisition Center, currently under the direction of Air Force Col. Carm Walgamott.
"One thing the Business and Acquisition Center does is work closely with industry to understand what they do well, what they don't do well, what we can learn, what we can apply," Frank Weber, deputy director J4, says. "Sometimes we end up sharing information with them. We've used them to examine our forecasting processes, strategic planning process; we've been able to learn lessons from them. We also learn that there are some things we do pretty well. But it is real important to stay abreast of what industry is doing because they're constantly changing, and as our readiness partners we have to understand, and sometimes react to, the directions in which they are heading."
As the name implies, within the BAC also resides the headquarters acquisition oversight element. Our acquisition specialists work closely with the component commands on acquisition strategies shaping how USTRANSCOM deals with our commercial carrier partners. They also interface with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the services on acquisition issues, and chair the transportation subcommittee of the Defense Acquisition Regulation Council.
"At the moment, BAC is working with OSD to initiate an independent study on USCINCTRAN'S need for expanded acquisition authority," Weber says. "Why do we believe the CINC needs acquisition authority? Because we are a command that depends heavily on the commercial industry for our peacetime and wartime force structure, and we must be able to access that force structure quickly. So how we deal with the industry from an acquisition standpoint is very critical to our mission success."
The BAC is also responsible for the command's benchmarking program (looking at best commercial practices and how they may apply to DTS operations), and is developing the business decision support system to integrate DTS operational performance and costing data across all modes.
This will allow us to assess the impact of our business processes and their associated costs against how well the system is performing, to give us insights into better ways of doing business. And all of these features begin to come together in another BAC responsibility, USTRANSCOM Business Review Program. Under this program, each of the component commanders meet quarterly with the DCINC and senior staff to review in detail financial and performance metrics and ensure we're all focusing, from a joint perspective, on the same objectives.
One of the main functions of J4 is its business center. The business center identifies and incorporates best practices and processes to ensure a world-class transportation system that supports the customer in war and peace.
Why a business center?
"USTRANSCOM is not a business, and no one in the organization has ever said we ought to run like a business," says Weber. "However, we are in the business of transportation. It is a $4 billion plus operation we're responsible for. And every dollar we spend needlessly on transportation is one less dollar available to the DOD for other critical things whether it's training, modernization or quality of life. So we have to pay attention to how we're doing business. If we can drive efficiencies into the system that let us get better utilization out of our limited resources, that makes those resources available to support the wide breath of customers we must support. That's readiness.
"You know we're never going to be Wal-Mart," he continues. "We don't want to be Wal-Mart, but we want to learn from the smart things they do. We always know we have to pay attention to how all those elements come together. How we can do things better, faster, cheaper, in peace and war. So it all comes back within the business center to readiness. This is a practice that makes sense for us to do because it promotes all those things that are important to the effectiveness and the efficiency that enable us to do our primary mission, which is readiness of the defense transportation system."
What is in the future for J4?
"It's really pretty exciting," Weber says. "Obviously I think we're going to make quantum improvements in our ability to move material through our system both in times of peace and war. This is where the J3/J4 tie within USTRANSCOM is so good because as our J3 counterparts look at the deployment process and force projection side, these new distribution or sustainment processes we're developing dovetail very well with them, because today we must deploy and sustain at the same time. Deployment and sustainment are competing for limited assets and limited capabilities.
USTRANSCOM is bringing these two together in a single coherent system.
"So we're going to continue to press that," said Weber. "And we're now beginning to work on integrating distribution command and control between DLA and USTRANSCOM."
How is that better than today?
"Today we don't have it," he says. "On a simplistic level, today DLA prepares cargo and sends it to our ports and we put it on an airplane or ship. What we really have to get to is the ability to manage the entry of cargo into the system. Once it's in the system, control it with a definite delivery time, the consistency that says if your goal is ten days then that's what you do, and the customer can rely upon, day in and day out. But somebody has to manage that. DLA can't do it alone because they can't see or manage our assets. We can't do it alone because we're not responsible for generating the cargo, and can't see far enough back into the supply system to see it coming toward us. So we're trying to bring those two actions together, and I believe it's where the DOD is also going. We're seeing supply and transportation even within the services starting to meld closer and closer. USTRANSCOM and DLA are now doing this at the strategic level. How do we integrate command and control? Can we integrate? There are obviously a lot of rice bowls and challenges to overcome, but we need to do it, and soon."
"It's really exciting stuff, and brings into play all those other things we're doing in J4 like the business decision support system, ITV, customs, and so on" he continues. "All these other things come into play, and that's where we're going. And we're doing it because of the outstanding people we have within our organization. Good folks," Weber concludes.
Up until 1997, TCJ4 consisted of only about 35 people, with just two divisions. However, a major J3/4 reorganization in 1997 fundamentally reshaped the J4 mission. That reorganization transferred elements from TCJ3 relating to the Global Transportation Network and mobility systems, realigned the acquisition function which previously resided in the Chief Counsel's office, created a new organization to oversee the incorporation of better business practices into the DTS, and established an SES as the deputy to the J3/4. Today, the organization consists of 4 divisions with authorized end strength of 95 people.
"We're responsible for the operational logistics side of the command," says Frank Weber, deputy director J-4, "the operating procedures and practices of the Defense Transportation System to include the Defense Transportation Regulation, customs processes and those other policies and procedures that support our operators within the headquarters and the component commands. Our job is to help them do their job better, easier and more efficiently."
"We serve as the functional proponent for DOD ITV and the Global Transportation Network, representing the needs of DTS customers worldwide who require timely and accurate in-transit visibility to support their peacetime and wartime missions. These customers include individual units, bases and installations, and command centers throughout DOD," he says.
TCJ4's Logistics Program Division (LP) headed by Air Force Col. Ray Hebert is heavily engaged with the GTN Program Management Office, the TCJ6 and others in Global Transportation Network in shaping the next generation of ITV through the GTN 21 program. They developed and manage the command's Automated Information Technology program, a CINC directed action to ensure implementation of AIT capabilities -- Radio Frequency interrogators, barcodes and other devices -- throughout USTRANSCOM aerial and sea ports worldwide.
LP is also responsible for DOD's Electronic Data Interchange program for transportation, which is critical to ensuring our ability to exchange movements information between commercial industry and GTN. They also serve as USTRANSCOM's focal point for the Transportation Coordinators Automated Information Management System II (TC AIMS II) program.
J4 is the executive agent for the Department of Defense customs and border clearance program, a mission assigned to USTRANSCOM by the Department of Defense in 1997.
The Transportation Management Division (TCJ4-LT) is under the management of Barry Smithey.
"Customs will never be something that will go like clockwork," Weber points out, "but there's a tremendous amount that we can and have done to improve that process that translates directly into velocity and support to our customers."
LT also oversees command participation in the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) and Joint Container Exercise Programs and is the USTRANSCOM focal point for implementation of reengineered transportation billing and documentation processes directed by OSD as a result of Management Reform Memorandum #15. In addition, they are responsible for conducting a detailed evaluation of several ongoing DOD personal property pilot programs, leading to a USCINCTRANS recommendation to OSD later this year.
Responsibility for daily oversight of the Strategic Distribution Management Initiative (SDMI) rests with Air Force Lt. Col. Tye Beasley and his team within TCJ4-SD. SDMI is a major effort initiated 18 months ago by USCINCTRANS and the director of DLA. Its goal is to improve the speed and reliability of DOD's worldwide distribution system by integrating the wholesale supply and transportation processes, and linking these efforts with theater distribution operators to get materiel to the end user where and when it's needed.
SDMI is having a dramatic impact on how we do business throughout the defense transportation system to include peacetime and wartime operations, financial processes and systems integration. The role of TCJ4-SD is to coordinate and shape the activities of a myriad of players -- including other headquarters elements, the component commands, service and defense agencies -- to institutionalize the process changes identified as a result of various ongoing pilots and analysis.
The largest and most diverse division within TCJ4 is the Business and Acquisition Center, currently under the direction of Air Force Col. Carm Walgamott.
"One thing the Business and Acquisition Center does is work closely with industry to understand what they do well, what they don't do well, what we can learn, what we can apply," Frank Weber, deputy director J4, says. "Sometimes we end up sharing information with them. We've used them to examine our forecasting processes, strategic planning process; we've been able to learn lessons from them. We also learn that there are some things we do pretty well. But it is real important to stay abreast of what industry is doing because they're constantly changing, and as our readiness partners we have to understand, and sometimes react to, the directions in which they are heading."
As the name implies, within the BAC also resides the headquarters acquisition oversight element. Our acquisition specialists work closely with the component commands on acquisition strategies shaping how USTRANSCOM deals with our commercial carrier partners. They also interface with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the services on acquisition issues, and chair the transportation subcommittee of the Defense Acquisition Regulation Council.
"At the moment, BAC is working with OSD to initiate an independent study on USCINCTRAN'S need for expanded acquisition authority," Weber says. "Why do we believe the CINC needs acquisition authority? Because we are a command that depends heavily on the commercial industry for our peacetime and wartime force structure, and we must be able to access that force structure quickly. So how we deal with the industry from an acquisition standpoint is very critical to our mission success."
The BAC is also responsible for the command's benchmarking program (looking at best commercial practices and how they may apply to DTS operations), and is developing the business decision support system to integrate DTS operational performance and costing data across all modes.
This will allow us to assess the impact of our business processes and their associated costs against how well the system is performing, to give us insights into better ways of doing business. And all of these features begin to come together in another BAC responsibility, USTRANSCOM Business Review Program. Under this program, each of the component commanders meet quarterly with the DCINC and senior staff to review in detail financial and performance metrics and ensure we're all focusing, from a joint perspective, on the same objectives.
One of the main functions of J4 is its business center. The business center identifies and incorporates best practices and processes to ensure a world-class transportation system that supports the customer in war and peace.
Why a business center?
"USTRANSCOM is not a business, and no one in the organization has ever said we ought to run like a business," says Weber. "However, we are in the business of transportation. It is a $4 billion plus operation we're responsible for. And every dollar we spend needlessly on transportation is one less dollar available to the DOD for other critical things whether it's training, modernization or quality of life. So we have to pay attention to how we're doing business. If we can drive efficiencies into the system that let us get better utilization out of our limited resources, that makes those resources available to support the wide breath of customers we must support. That's readiness.
"You know we're never going to be Wal-Mart," he continues. "We don't want to be Wal-Mart, but we want to learn from the smart things they do. We always know we have to pay attention to how all those elements come together. How we can do things better, faster, cheaper, in peace and war. So it all comes back within the business center to readiness. This is a practice that makes sense for us to do because it promotes all those things that are important to the effectiveness and the efficiency that enable us to do our primary mission, which is readiness of the defense transportation system."
What is in the future for J4?
"It's really pretty exciting," Weber says. "Obviously I think we're going to make quantum improvements in our ability to move material through our system both in times of peace and war. This is where the J3/J4 tie within USTRANSCOM is so good because as our J3 counterparts look at the deployment process and force projection side, these new distribution or sustainment processes we're developing dovetail very well with them, because today we must deploy and sustain at the same time. Deployment and sustainment are competing for limited assets and limited capabilities.
USTRANSCOM is bringing these two together in a single coherent system.
"So we're going to continue to press that," said Weber. "And we're now beginning to work on integrating distribution command and control between DLA and USTRANSCOM."
How is that better than today?
"Today we don't have it," he says. "On a simplistic level, today DLA prepares cargo and sends it to our ports and we put it on an airplane or ship. What we really have to get to is the ability to manage the entry of cargo into the system. Once it's in the system, control it with a definite delivery time, the consistency that says if your goal is ten days then that's what you do, and the customer can rely upon, day in and day out. But somebody has to manage that. DLA can't do it alone because they can't see or manage our assets. We can't do it alone because we're not responsible for generating the cargo, and can't see far enough back into the supply system to see it coming toward us. So we're trying to bring those two actions together, and I believe it's where the DOD is also going. We're seeing supply and transportation even within the services starting to meld closer and closer. USTRANSCOM and DLA are now doing this at the strategic level. How do we integrate command and control? Can we integrate? There are obviously a lot of rice bowls and challenges to overcome, but we need to do it, and soon."
"It's really exciting stuff, and brings into play all those other things we're doing in J4 like the business decision support system, ITV, customs, and so on" he continues. "All these other things come into play, and that's where we're going. And we're doing it because of the outstanding people we have within our organization. Good folks," Weber concludes.
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