USTRANSCOM campus grows
The mammoth project is a result of 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisions which includes the collocation of the Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command with USTRANSCOM and its air component, Air Mobility Command. SDDC will occupy the entire third floor of the building, bringing together elements previously located at three different installations in Virginia.
Steven Coyle, USTRANSCOM's director of BRAC Transformation, said the command was unique among combatant commands.
"We are the only COCOM that participated in BRAC 2005, and we also had a savings of $1.2 billion, making us second only to DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) in BRAC initiative savings," Coyle said.
Coyle added that improvements to existing command facilities are also under way with a total price tag for construction and upgrades totaling $130 million.
"Gen. Johnson (Army Maj. Gen. William Johnson, USTRANSCOM chief of staff) directed we also upgrade the rest of the TRANSCOM campus to be of comparable quality to the new facility. That's what we are in the process of doing," he said.
Johnson pointed out updated facilities are necessary to build on the command's culture of collaboration and fusion.
"Many of the USTRANSCOM facilities predate the establishment of the command and, in many cases, are not aligned with the current organization and are just plain outdated," said Johnson. "When complete, the entire campus will be up to a common standard, aligned with current organization and processes, conducive to collaboration and overall a better, healthier place to work."
The new facility will house the command's new Fusion Center, or nerve center, which will enhance synergy among USTRANSCOM components (AMC, SDDC and Military Sealift Command) and command functional representatives for transportation planning, command and control.
"The primary function of the Fusion Center is to synchronize USTRANSCOM's global strategic mobility operations by focusing the components and staff efforts to ensure effective and timely support to all Geographic Combatant Commands," said Col. Kenneth Lundgren, Fusion Center director, Operations and Plans Directorate.
Among the functions located in the new addition will be the Joint Distribution Process and Analysis Center (JDPAC), which supports USTRANSCOM Distribution Process Owner global mobility analytic transportation requirements.
"Instead of USTRANSCOM, AMC and SDDC each maintaining a separate analysis element, the JDPAC construct enables our analysts to be part of fully matrixed, fluid, cross-functional teams generating a synergistic effect to provide the optimum Joint and Service solution," said Col. Jean Mahan, JDPAC director.
Acquisition activities from USTRANSCOM, AMC and SDDC will incorporate commercial contract activities into an Acquisition Center of Excellence, with close to $8 billion in contracting authority supporting global Department of Defense transportation requirements.
USTRANSCOM's director of acquisition, Margaret Leclaire, said the Acquisition Center of Excellence will improve support to USTRANSCOM customers.
"The collocation of the acquisition functions from AMC and SDDC into the USTRANSCOM acquisition organization has already demonstrated success, despite the fact we had yet to collocate the entire team," said Leclaire. "Moving the entire contracting staff into one facility, located directly below the Fusion Center, will further enhance our ability to provide timely, high quality acquisition solutions for the warfighter."
The Joint Billing Center consolidates comptroller billing and collection activities, so all DOD transportation customers will have a single point of contact for USTRANSCOM billing issues. It will operate from Building 1700.
Army Col. Paul Ernst, Agile Transportation for the 21st Century (AT21) functional manager and Fusion Center/AT21 Transformation chief, said the Fusion Center will integrate the actions of the right people in the right place at the right time to facilitate distribution and deployment planning. "AT21 is first and foremost about process improvement, with enabling information technology where applicable," he said.
The consolidation construction project will provide a home for the new Joint Intelligence Operations Center for Transportation. The JIOC-TRANS will physically combine intelligence and operations functions, adding in-depth intelligence analysis to Fusion Center capabilities. The Defense Intelligence Agency provided $20 million to fund additional square footage - a "bump out" - to house JIOC analysts.
"Collocating intelligence professionals with transportation planners and operators ensures we engage in the planning cycle early, maintain situation awareness as operations execute, and provide relevant intelligence products and services along the way--always in time to influence decision-makers," said Ed Faller, deputy director, Intelligence Directorate.
Transformation projects include an upgrade to Building 1961, reconfiguring Building 1930, known as Rockwell Hall, and establishing temporary offices in Building 1910 for AT21 program management and the AT21 Enterprise Integration Laboratory.
Additional projects slated for completion by fiscal year 2012 include the Global Patient Movement Requirements Center moving elements from Building 505 into Building 1700, and the Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative office and the Chief Information Office/Distribution Portfolio Management branch both relocating from off-base leased facilities to the base.
Overall, this consolidation reduces USTRANSCOM's campus footprint. When complete, the Manpower and Personnel Directorate, Intelligence Directorate and Reserve Component Directorate will have moved from multiple buildings into the combination of 1900 East and 1900 West.
Johnson added there will be other changes to reflect USTRANSCOM pride and heritage. Projects include the renovation of Building 1900 East front entrance on Scott Drive, the front lobby, the hallway, and developing the center lobby into a heritage area to showcase USTRANSCOM's mission, history and achievements.
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