United States Transportation Command

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- I have stood on the shoulders of giants and been in the presence of heroes, said Maj. Gen. James P. Czekanski, Air Force Reserve. He was speaking of and to the men and women he has served with during 37 years of active and reserve duty, at a ceremony marking his retirement at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., December 4.

Czekanski, who began his career flying combat missions in Cambodia as an AC-130A Gunship aircraft commander, has recently served as the Officer in Charge of U.S. Transportation Commands Joint Transportation Reserve Unit since 2003. Since 2004, he has also served as the Director of USTRANSCOMs, Reserve Component Directorate.

USTRANSCOM provides air, land, and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, during peace and war. The 253 members of the JTRU provide USTRANSCOM with the highly skilled personnel it needs from the Reserve components of all the services.

USTRANSCOMs reliance on the reserves has increased dramatically since the events of 9/11. From October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005, Reservists contributed more than 34,000 days worth of support to USTRANSCOM.

Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the commander of USTRANSCOM, hosted the ceremony and explained the importance of the Reserves to the nations defense.

Well over half and in some cases, substantially more than half of our national [military] capability resides in the Reserves, Schwartz said.

Because Reservists play such a vital role in USTRANSCOM operations, one of Czekanskis first tasks was to better manage this mission-critical resource. Czekanski responded by spearheading the creation of the Reserve Component Directorate.

Referred to by its joint staff section designation, J9, the Reserve Component Directorate advises the USTRANSCOM commander on all matters related to Reserve Component support to USTRANSCOM and its component commands.

The J9 gives the other directorates a single point of contact that they can come to in order to get Reserve augmentation, Czekanski explained, It also gives the request for Reserve augmentation some structure and some discipline.

Reporting directly to the USTRANSCOM commander, the J9 effectively and efficiently provides USTRANSCOM with trained, ready Reserve Component Forces to support the commands mission.

Another challenge Czekanski tackled was to maximize reserve support to USTRANSCOMs 24/7/365 Deployment and Distribution Operations Center while minimizing the need for mobilizing individual reservists. In response, Czekanski implemented a plan to have reservists man the operations center every weekend. This allowed more reservists to serve in the center, avoiding the potential civilian employer conflicts of a weekday duty shift, while still meeting USTRANSCOMs manpower needs.

Despite developments that occurred on his watch, Czekanski bristles at talk of his accomplishments.

All these things are what the people that I had the privilege to lead did, said Czekanski.

Looking to the future, Czekanski said the challenge he sees for his successor will be how to keep USTRANSCOM supplied with the Reserve manpower it needs while mobilizing the fewest number of reservists.

The another challenge he sees for his successor, is how to satisfy the Reserve requirements of USTRANSCOM in light of the changes mandated by the most recent round of congressional base re-alignment and closure recommendations. As a result of BRAC, USTRANSCOMs component command, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command will move from its facilities in Alexandria and Ft. Eustis, Va., to Scott Air Force Base, Ill., joining USTRANSCOM and its other component command, Air Mobility Command.

With such co-location of commands and a consolidation of many functions, Czekanski said, We really dont know what the long term Reserve requirement and mission is going to be at USTRANSCOM.

Czekanski was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, Susan. Guests for the event included USTRANSCOMs Deputy Commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, former USTRANSCOM Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Carlos Butch Pair, and USTRANSCOMs Director of Operations, Brig. Gen. Paul Selva.

Czekanski was commissioned through the ROTC program at the University of Massachusetts where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History. He is a graduate of Squadron Officers School and the Air War College, and holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling and Human Development from Troy State University.

He has more than 250 hours on 55 combat missions in the AC-130A while in Southeast Asia. He has logged more than 7,500 flying hours in aircraft such as the C-5A, C-141B, C-130A/B/E/H/J, AC-130A, HC-130H/N/P, KC-135R, C-17A, and HH-3. He has commanded two airlift wings, a tactical airlift group, and a rescue and recovery squadron.

Prior to assuming his current position, he was the Commander of the Air Force Reserves 4th Air Force, and an Air Reserve Technician and member of the Senior Executive Service.

The ceremony was his second such event; he retired from Federal civil service on September 1, 2003.

During the ceremony at Scott, Schwartz presented Czekanski with the Defense Superior Service Medal in part, for the developments he ushered in during his tenure at USTRANSCOM.

Czekanski, a Shalimar, Fla., resident, says he is looking forward to spending more time with his family, especially his parents, who live in Fort Pierce, Fla., and being a waterfront resident, fisherman and sailor.

USTRANSCOMs first J9 Director looks at challenges for the Reserve Component Directorate

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USTRANSCOMs first J9 Director looks at challenges for the Reserve Component Directorate

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USTRANSCOMs first J9 Director looks at challenges for the Reserve Component Directorate