Air Mobility Command: a viable partner in distribution process ownership.

In September, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld designated US Transportation Command as the single Department of Defense Distribution Process Owner. Air Mobility Command, USTRANSCOM's airlift component, has been hard at work exploring and synchronizing aerial port processes with the new end-to-end distribution pipeline.

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Even prior to the designation, AMC's Air Transportation Division was already synchronizing and scheduling DoD cargo through a system called Strategic Distribution (SD). Established by USTRANSCOM, SD continues to improve with the help of the command's transportation components (AMC, the Navy's Military Sealift Command and the Army's Surface Deployment and Distribution Command) and the Defense Logistics Agency. The partnership of distribution stakeholders also includes each of the military services, Joint Forces Command, US European Command, US Pacific Command, US Central Command, and commercial industry.

Strategic Distribution transforms the global distribution system through synchronizing and scheduling air and surface transportation for cargo moving from factory to foxhole. SD is a natural fit in the Direct Process Ownership effort for a synchronized supply, transportation, and distribution pipeline, optimizing end-to-end distribution from acquisition to warfighter. AMC has played a significant and successful role in the SD process by applying best practices and supply-chain-management principles to cargo flowing in and out of aerial ports.

A unique aspect of Distribution Process Ownership is that it brings together all of the DoD distribution stakeholders in a joint venture to integrate the DoD's distribution "system of systems" into one seamless pipeline. Before DPO, no single agency was in charge of the end-to-end process to sustain American troops. USTRANSCOM's components delivered material from point to point. For AMC, that meant from aerial port to aerial port. Once the cargo was delivered, someone else took over. Because of the "seams" in strategic and operational logistics, cargo frequently "bottlenecked" at critical points awaiting delivery to its intended destination.

An area that continues to reap significant dividends is the integrated process teams, which will transform DPO toward a single-faced, visible, reliable, and simplified DoD distribution system.

The command has subject matter experts on many IPTs where they offer ideas and solutions integrating aerial port and cargo management processes for a seamless distribution system. Additionally, they're providing value by optimizing other nodes of the distribution pipeline as cargo flows from acquisition to supply to the ports and to the warfighter in the theater. The DoD Supply and Transportation Priority System IPT puts AMC aerial ports at the forefront in implementing Radio Frequency Identification Data (RFID) technology. RFID tags enable aerial porters to select the right cargo so it can get to the right place at the right time. The Deployment and Distribution IPT provides AMC a chance to provide significant improvements to deployment cargo processes as units deploy to contingencies.

Another integrated process team related to speed and reliability of cargo is the Time Definite Delivery Goals IPT. AMC plays a large part in ensuring cargo moves through the intermodal seams as fast and efficient as possible in order to meet the warfighter's requirements with a high degree of reliability and dependability.

AMC people are also getting involved in the joint environment. In January 2004, the DPO deployed a group of exports, which included DPO partners and stakeholders and AMC air transportation subject matter experts, to work as one "purple" unit in theater as the CENTCOM Deployment Distribution Operations Center. The AMC folks have offered their expertise in reach-back capability, intransit visibility, intertheather and intratheater airlift and cargo management policy processes, and deployed aerial port support. Already the theater has seen significant improvements in theater cargo flow to the warfighter, and AMC will continue to be an integral part of this exciting and proven concept.

Within the DPO process, AMC is now a full partner with other transportation components and distribution pipeline stakeholders working as one team to optimize the distribution pipeline end-to-end. The real winners are the Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the field who expect shipments containing the parts, weapons, supplies, or equipment they need to sustain their operations. Our warfighters deserve the best distribution system featuring speed and reliability, visibility, dependability, and simplicity to meet their mission. It's for this reason, AMC will remain dedicated to its role in the Direct Process Ownership partnership.

USTRANSCOM