Acronyms spoken here

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- AMC has a TACC, USTRANSCOM has a DDOC, MSC has SEALOGs, the Navy has SEALs and everyone knows what it all means.

Right?

 Doubtful.

Acronyms are abbreviations of words or phrases which are pronounced as words in and of themselves.  Without these little space savers a simple, military-related memo would probably take up more space than a DDOC full of DPOs (find out what these translate to later).

United States Transportation Command workers should know the translation of abbreviations such as OPSEC (operations security), CONUS (continental United States) and DOD (Department of Defense) and other alphabetical tongue twisters. 

But what about JDDOC, SDDC, JDPAC or JIFTO or GPMRC or a few hundred others?

In an attempt to foster a better understanding of such alphabet soup, ASH, or Acronyms Spelled Here, will feature, on a recurring basis, explanations of selected acronyms.

USTRANSCOM’s DPO was mentioned earlier, making it a likely target for interpretation.

DPO stands for Distribution Process Owner.  The Secretary of Defense appointed the commander of USTRANSCOM to be the DPO in September 2003.  The appointment puts the commander of USTRANSCOM in charge of integrating the distribution pipeline for the Department of Defense. 

Simply put, the DPO is responsible for making our military’s supply chain more effective and efficient. 

Moving on here’s a couple more.  USTRANSCOM has three component commands, Air Mobility Command, or AMC, which everyone here at Scott Air Force base should already know.  The other two may be a bit out of the grasp of many not accustomed with Army and Navy organizations.

They are Military Sealift Command, or MSC, and the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, known as SDDC (this group is right here on base, so it should be relatively easy to learn about, if you are so inclined).  Please note the word Military before Surface.  This is not a typo, again SDDC stands for Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.  This is a classic example of how military acronyms can be confusing at times.

MSC provides sealift transportation services to deploy, sustain and redeploy U.S. forces around the globe. The command provides sealift with a fleet of government-owned and chartered U.S.-flagged ships. MSC executes VISA contracts for chartered vessels. Sealift ships principally move unit equipment from the U.S. to theaters of operation all over the world.

In addition to sealift ships, MSC operates a fleet of prepositioned ships strategically placed around the world and loaded with equipment and supplies to sustain Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency operations. These ships remain at sea, ready to deploy on short notice, which significantly reduces the response time for the delivery of urgently needed equipment and supplies to a theater of operation.

SDDC provides ocean terminal, commercial ocean liner service and traffic management services to deploy, sustain and redeploy U.S. forces on a global basis. The command is responsible for surface transportation and is the interface between DOD shippers and the commercial transportation carrier industry. This includes movement of DOD member household goods and privately owned vehicles.

SDDC is the nation's largest customer to the moving industry with more than 500,000 household goods moves a year. The command also provides transportation for troops and materiel to ports of departure in the U.S. and overseas and manages 24 ports worldwide, including military terminals at Sunny Point, N.C. and Concord, Calif.

So, there you have it, two more military word puzzles that are no longer mysteries, only a few hundred to go.

-USTRANSCOM-