Photo By Kimberly Spinner | Sgt. Jonathen Reuben (left) and Sgt. Dylan Labbie, verify piece count on the USNS...... read more read more
SHILOH, Ill. - In 2021, through its people and a focus on readiness and future operations, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command delivered innovative transportation solutions to the right place at the right time, every time.
Despite the shipping and safety challenges stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, SDDC successfully evolved their operations and business practices to meet the global demands of our changing world.
SDDC is the Army Service Component Command to the U.S. Transportation Command and a Major Subordinate Command to the U.S. Army Materiel Command. This team of teams strategically moves, deploys and sustains the Armed Forces in support of the Nation’s objectives. The command is made up of its headquarters, located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, five active-duty transportation brigades located throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the U.S. Army Reserve’s Deployment Support Command, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
Unlike 2020, it was a relatively stable year for SDDC leadership with Maj. Gen. Heidi Hoyle completing her first full year at the command. However, on October 1 Command Sgt. Maj. Rocky Carr retired and handed over senior enlisted leader responsibilities to Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Morrison, and Mr. Bryan King filled in for Mr. Michael Hutchison, the deputy to the commander, while he temporarily served as assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, Army G4.
Both the 597th and 595th Transportation Brigades welcomed new commanders, with Col. Michael Patrick handing over the reins to Col. Jeremy St. Laurent and Col. Michael Ludwick relinquishing command to Col. Ricardo Sierra-Guzman, respectively.
PEOPLE – OUR STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
Today’s landscape requires the integration of SDDC’s diverse active, Reserve, civilian, and local-national Surface Warrior workforce. Throughout the year, the command’s leaders recognized and trained their personnel while also providing a safe and inclusive environment.
While most of our workforce ensure proactive risk management is integrated throughout plans, operations and training, here are a couple examples where Surface Warriors were recognized for their contributions.
In February, the 837th Transportation Battalion, a subordinate command of the 599th Transportation Brigade, received the Army Safety Excellence streamer for 12 consecutive months with zero class A or B accidents and its members maintained a 100% Composite Risk Management training completion rate for 24 months.
“The 837th continues to set the standard by emphasizing safety as a way to protect our top priority ‘People’ and provide readiness to United States Forces Korea,” said Col. Erik Hilberg, 599th Transportation Brigade commander.
The 599th, co-located with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command service component commands at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, provides strategic movement and deployment support to the Pacific.
The Deployment Support Command’s Sgt. Raul Vega, 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion, won the Army Individual Award of Excellence in Safety, Noncommissioned Officer Category.
“We are incredibly proud of Sgt. Vega. This is total force integration at its best,” said Hoyle.
Operationally controlled by SDDC, the DSC brings significant capability to the fight and supports SDDC operations by providing four Reserve transportation brigades and an expeditionary rail center.
“Our Surface Warriors all over the world deliver readiness to the Joint Force while maintaining a ‘People First’ mindset,” said Hoyle.
In support of the Army’s Project Inclusion initiative, the command created and codified its Diversity and Inclusion Council this year.
“Our goal is to develop a culture and a reputation of being a diverse, people-focused organization that provides a safe, inclusive environment for our workforce,” said Hoyle. “The inception of the council started last year after SDDC leadership gathered feedback from command climate surveys, listening sessions and discussions from the command’s own grassroots initiative, the Reconciliation and Respect, or R2, Group.”
DEPLOYMENT AND DISTRIBUTION READINESS
Surface Warriors have been conducting global operations in the midst of COVID-19 conditions for almost two years. This year, they moved cargo through 68 ports throughout the world, delivering more than 27,000 pieces of equipment in support of six combatant commands during real-world operations and training exercises.
On any given day, there are 1,500 SDDC-leveraged trucks on the road. This year, the command coordinated 269 trains pulling 17,458 rail cars and 70 ships in support of warfighting requirements and provided global sustainment by shipping nearly 60,000 containers and pieces in support of the Defense Commissary Agency, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, and the Defense Logistics Agency.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the exercises in which Surface Warriors participated or supported throughout the year:
They supported both DEFENDER series exercises, DEFENDER-Europe 21, a large-scale, U.S. Army-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO and partner militaries and DEFENDER-Pacific 21, a U.S. Army Pacific exercise that demonstrated strategic deployment and joint operational maneuver of forces into and across the Indo-Pacific theater.
During the exercises, the 596th and 597th Transportation Brigades, with the help of Deployment Support Command Soldiers, executed seaport operations from the U.S., while the 598th Transportation Brigade executed seaport operations across Europe and Africa and the 599th did so in the Pacific.
In May, 598th Transportation Brigade Surface Warriors executed terminal operations in Morocco in support of African Lion 2021. The exercise was a multi-component and multinational exercise promoting interoperability among African partners and NATO Allies.
“The spring and summer set historic highs for our European brigade’s operations tempo,” said Hoyle. “The volume, tempo and complexity inherent in working across these various nations in such a short time span, while layering COVID travel restrictions, is a testament to the talent and dedication of the Surface Warriors across the 598th.”
On the other side of the world, 599th personnel were building relationships during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief table-top exercise in Japan. Two months later, they deployed a terminal operations team to Australia in support of Talisman Sabre, where they received, staged and inspected redeployment cargo.
In June, while supporting NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, a forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Central and Northern Europe, SDDC furthered its port diversification objectives by using a Danish port for U.S. military equipment for the first time in recent history.
The 831st Transportation Battalion, 595th Transportation Brigade, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, focused its efforts this year on the retrograde of equipment from Afghanistan. The 595th provides surface deployment and distribution operations to meet national security objectives within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility via organic, commercial and host-nation capabilities.
EVOLVING FOR TOMORROW
Emerging requirements, missions and crises often unfold with minimal planning time. SDDC is constantly preparing its people, systems and infrastructure to ensure the Warfighter is ready to fight tonight in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“SDDC’s data improvement efforts continue to improve in-transit visibility and availability of information across the surface transportation enterprise,” said Hoyle.
SDDC personnel changed their business rules to incorporate more in-transit events in the command’s reporting on CONUS movements, and contractors installed new Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility Interrogator systems along the Trans-Arabian Network, improving support to the Warfighter in the U.S. Army Central Command area of responsibility. The systems use a comprehensive infrastructure of hardware and software to identity status and location of cargo anywhere in the world.
The command also updated its hand-held terminals, used to manage cargo moving through SDDC ports globally. The devices allow Surface Warriors to access multi-modal load plans on the go. To avoid having a hollow force, personnel received training ahead of issuing the devices.
On the rail side of operations, SDDC rolled out the Domestic Freight Routing Request and Order application and training for rail negotiated shipment requests. Currently, it’s only for rail but will be available for motor and barge submissions in the future.
“This was a much needed capability across our commercial partners,” said Bryan King, SDDC chief information officer. “This significant improvement allows our G3 to coordinate and order rail movement with shippers and commercial carriers, replacing a paper and email process and adding permanent query capabilities.”
Port diversification is still at the forefront for SDDC. Surface Warriors from the 598th Transportation Brigade, in coordination with U.S. Army Europe and Africa G-4, identified small ports across Europe that could be used for intra-theater movements. They researched more than 30 ports that have sufficient infrastructure and capacity to support various military vessels and unit types, and their study will aid the U.S. European Command and USAREUR-AF in testing some of these ports in future theater exercises.
The 598th Transportation Brigade, located in Sembach, Germany, supports combatant commanders by conducting expeditionary and deliberate port and surface distribution operations via the Northern Distribution Network.
SDDC also increased security and safety efforts in 2021 at its East and West Coast military ocean terminals, Military Ocean Terminal Concord, located in the East San Francisco Bay region, and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, located in Sunny Point, North Carolina. The 596th Transportation Brigade, located at MOTSU, operates both ammunition terminals.
They increased their number of security patrol boats with more to arrive in early 2022 and have obtained funding and have plans to repair rail lines and update an entry control point to improve threat containment capabilities, safety and capacity.
SDDC, its Surface Warriors and commercial partners adapted and overcame the challenges of 2021 and delivered innovative transportation solutions to the right place at the right time, every time by focusing on people, readiness and future operations.
“The command had a successful year as a result of the hard work and dedication of our Surface Warriors and commercial partners,” said Hoyle.
| Date Taken: | 12.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.17.2021 09:52 |
| Story ID: | 411432 |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 245 |
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