Strategic planning continues; priorities emerge

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Continuing a collaborative planning approach at U.S. Transportation Command, a cross-directorate team has made substantial progress toward creating a new command strategy. Representatives from across the command as well as peers from components and subordinate commands have worked to establish a framework for the plan.

The group began by assessing the current and future strategic environment and then analyzed the command’s Department of Defense-assigned missions and critical tasks. The team distilled the command’s core responsibilities into three strategic priorities:

• Transportation services and enabling capabilities
• transportation-related information
• transportation billing and financial transactions

“This strategic plan will address what we’ve been hearing from our internal staff and partners from a variety of avenues,” said Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser, III, commander, USTRANSCOM. “We are working to show folks that there is a rationale behind what we do, and I will be taking the opportunity in the future to talk with people about how we’re knitting together our strategic plan, stakeholder input, and command initiatives.”

Air Force Brig. Gen. John Michel, deputy director, strategy, policy, programs and logistics, is leading the cross-stakeholder strategic planning effort on behalf of Gen. Fraser. Brig. Gen. Michel plans to visit partners in the coming weeks to provide a progress report. In addition, he will hold town hall meetings at the end of the month to share information with staff and gather input.

“We are including as many people in this process as possible,” said Michel. “We want to be transparent about why the command is moving in a particular direction. The next part of this process involves better aligning ourselves to meet our nation’s needs in the coming years and we want to help everyone to be supportive of these efforts.”

One of those included in the planning process is John Clatanoff, chief, analysis branch, Joint Distribution Process Analysis Center. Speaking of the planning process, Clatanoff said, “I have enjoyed being part of the strategic planning process and think that the work being done will enable the command to better focus on its core missions and responsibilities while fostering enterprise-wide collaboration."

In a blog entry to staff, Fraser noted, “This resources-to-mission alignment is critical in any high-performing organization, but especially important given our imperative to seek efficiencies while continuing to deliver world-class support to our warfighters.”

Next steps will be to define strategic objectives that support and advance the three command priorities and make the related resourcing recommendations. The team will deliver this framework to Fraser on July 31. Implementation of the approved plan will take place this fall.

-USTRANSCOM-