ALEXANDRIA, Va. (USTCNS) --- Overcoming challenges of time, distance and cancellation, the Military Traffic Management Command continued to efficiently move military recruits during the height of the terrorist crisis.
When airline flights were halted or curtailed, members of the Passenger Division leaned heavily on buses and AMTRAK trains.
New recruits for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard arrived at their initial training sites as required.
"We had some great support from transportation carriers," said Gail Andrews, chief, Recruit Movement Team.
"One after the other, commercial carriers called and asked, 'What can we do?'"
An initial backlog of 6,000 to 7,000 recruits immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist incidents had been reduced to approximately 1,000 by Sept. 18.
The bulk of the backlog at 62 Military Entrance Processing Stations throughout the United States was eliminated during the weekend of Sept. 15-16. A team that included Debra Anderson, Patty Proctor, Richard Currier and Joel Dickerson was able to provide assistance and alternate routings to assure successful transportation movements.
Team members coordinated with counterparts at recruiting command, processing stations, reception centers and commercial carriers.
The last time recruit movements have been so challenged was a decade ago, during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, said Andrews.
MTMC moves almost quarter million recruits a year from Military Entrance Processing Stations to individual service basic training sites. These sites include: Fort Jackson, S.C.; Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Ill; and Lackland Air Force Base, Texas; and Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, S.C.
The biggest challenges were the movement of recruits located in more remote parts of the nation such as Fargo, S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, said Andrews.
"We approached the job in a methodical manner," said Andrews. "We know the requirements - we know where the support is."
Multiple modes of transportation have long been a standard means of moving recruits, said Bev Cox, chief, Passenger Programs Division. This crisis involved shifting a greater proportion of recruits by ground transportation.
"I am so proud of my people," said Cox. "They stepped up to the plate, used creativity, and got the job done - during a very long weekend - to keep the flow of recruits moving."
(FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
