USTRANSCOM thanks supply chain management educator

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Gen. William M. Fraser III, commander U.S. Transportation Command thanked Dr. Paul Needham, Jan. 8, for his support to USTRANSCOM and the development of joint logisticians.

Needham is a professor of Logistics and director of the Supply Chain Management Concentration Program at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy (formerly Industrial College of the Armed Forces), National Defense University. He teaches courses in logistics, supply chain management, modeling and simulation, war gaming, military strategy, and transportation economics. 

In 2006, at the request of USTRANSCOM’s chief of staff, Needham developed the curriculum for a master’s degree in supply chain management at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

More than 200 military and civilian employees from all services and defense departments have graduated from the program.

Needham also developed the curriculum for an introductory course on supply chain management for the command and components. It is the only course of its kind.  It takes commercial case studies and ties them to real-world DOD examples to provide a foundational knowledge for everyone who has a role in supporting the warfighter/customer.

“USTRANSCOM, Defense Logistics Agency and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness suggested centralizing responsibility for joint logistics, education and training at NDU,” said Diana Roach, USTRANSCOM Change Management, “which was in response to findings and recommendations from a Defense Business Board Task Group on supply chain management.”

According to Roach, as a result, all three organizations funded the start-up of the Center for Joint and Strategic Logistics in 2009.  Needham served as interim director of the center and developed the framework for the center’s mission, vision, and business plan.

“The framework Needham put in place is used today to bring Service J4’s, Office of the Secretary of Defense Transportation Policy, and DLA together to discuss joint logistics education,” Roach said.

On Jan. 10, as Needham was wrapping up one of his presentations at Scott Air Force Base, Lt. Gen. Kathleen M. Gainey, USTRANSCOM deputy commander, presented him with a certificate of appreciation and a command memento. She then thanked him for his many years of service to USTRANSCOM, its components and the warfighters it serves.

                                                            - USTRANSCOM -