598th provides NATO a cost-savings plan for cargo movement

The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command's 598th Transportation Brigade headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, drew upon the Universal Services Contract to offer-up a cost-savings plan to the Dutch Ministry of Defense for a surface movement requirement they currently have.

The country's Ministry of Defense is seeing a cost savings of around $700,000 contracting under this plan for round-trip movement of their containers between the Netherlands and Alaska.

"The cost reduction is very welcome," said Erik Hoefsmit, chief of the Sea Transport Office for the Dutch Ministry, Defense Support Command. "What pleases me is that we have established contact with the 598th Transportation Brigade now. This contact can be utilized in the future and can be beneficial to both parties."

Last December the 598th's Ocean Cargo Clearance Authority Office Europe and Africa received a price quote request from NATO's Movement Coordination Center - Europe for this mission. The plan entails the 598th to be responsible for the European leg of the container movement with their sister brigade, the 597th, executing movements across the United States.

This isn't the first time SDDC provided cost savings to NATO partners. The first successful match in the four years that the United States has been a member of the MCC-E happened in November 2010. The 598th was involved in a match between Germany and the United States for the movement of several containers with ammunition. This successful match generated almost $250,000 of cost savings. It resulted in a saving of $67,000 to the United States and $180,000 cost saving to Germany.

The MCC-E is a great example of NATO allies working close together in order to be unified in defense and in economic savings directly contributing to National Defense.

U.S. Army Materiel Command's SDDC executes surface movement of cargo for the Department of Defense as the Army Service Component Command of U.S. Transportation Command.

SDDC is a unique Army command delivering world-class, origin-to-destination distribution solutions. Whenever and wherever Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are deployed, SDDC is involved in planning and executing the surface delivery of their equipment and supplies.
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