Getting to know how to transport U.S. Army cargo.The transportation of goods from origin to destination is a fact that's known to all employees of the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. Organizing transportation starts with basic knowledge, the knowledge of the Defense Transportation Regulation, or DTR (Data Terminal Ready) An RS-232 signal sent from the computer or terminal to the modem indicating that it is able to accept data. Contrast with DSR. DTR - Data Terminal Ready . The DTR provides all information needed to ship cargo through the American Forces Defense Transportation System. This past month Gary Hutcheson from the Transportation School out of Ft. Eustis, Va., has been on the road to spread the knowledge. Last summer Hutcheson taught members of the 595th Transportation Group at Camp Spearhead in Kuwait and in August he spent time in Rotterdam to educate members of the 598th Transportation Group. Hutcheson is familiar with the differences in operating cargo both in the continental U.S. (CONUS) and outside CONUS. "In the U.S.A. transporters think that the way they operate is the way all transporters in the world work," says Hutcheson. "There's a big difference between, for instance, the U.S. and Europe. In Europe cargo bookers guide the cargo all the way, where in the U.S. a booker has the responsibility for a segment of this process. This means that I have to emphasize different aspects here then what I would back in CONUS. I have to ensure that the students here in this class will have the knowledge on all segments." The students in the class at the 598th Transportation Group headquarters only transport goods in the 598th Transportation Group Area of Responsibility so they are unaware of the different aspects highlighted. Marianne Lammers of the 598th Transportation Group's Ocean Cargo Clearance Authority The Military Traffic Management Command activity that books Department of Defense (DOD) sponsored cargo and passengers for surface movement, performs related contract administration, and accomplishes export and import surface traffic management functions for DOD cargo moving within the (OCCA OCCA Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals OCCA Oil & Colour Chemists' Association OCCA Oregon Community College Association OCCA Orthodox Catholic Church of America OCCA Organized Crime Control Act OCCA Open Cooperative Computing Architecture ) benefited from this training. "This training dictates all the basic rules and is the prime regulation for transportation. I was often told this but now realize that the DTR is the most practical guide in the business." To visualize the lessons, Hutcheson took the group on a field trip to the port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is a capesize port in the heart of Europe. Antwerp is situated at the estuarium of the Scheldt. In this estuary ships of more than 100 000 tons sail 80 km inland. . There he was able to show the students the way the documentation doctrine works. At the 838th Transportation Battalion's household section Hutcheson, together with Marine Cargo Specialist Michel Michel named after Gaston Michel, a French surgeon (1875-1937). Michel clip metal skin sutures in various sizes from 8 to 16 mm long. Each clip is a 2 mm wide band of metal with a downturned sharp prong at each end. van Marle, explained the labeling of the boxes awaiting shipment to the household goods consolidation warehouse in Baltimore Baltimore, city (1990 pop. 736,014), N central Md., surrounded by but politically independent of Baltimore co., on the Patapsco River estuary, an arm of Chesapeake Bay; inc. 1745. , Md. SDDC's 838th Transportation Battalion's Darryl Flowers, who is a documentation specialist, followed the course and said, "After attending the DTR documentation class I have a much more clear understanding of military shipping regulations we are required to follow. It is the bible of transportation. All you have to do is just open it and all the answers are there for you. Just this week I brought to Mr. Hutcheson's attention an example of a poorly created TCMD TCMD Transportation Control & Movement Document TCMD Trans-Caucasus Military District TCMD Thousand Cubic Meters Daily (unit of water volume) created in Germany at a BMCT BMCT Branch Movement Control Team BMCT Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust BMCT British Motorcycle Charitable Trust BMCT Before Morning Civil Twilight BMCT Bit Map Conversion Table BMCT Brief Management Counselling & Training . One of his colleagues is currently working on this matter now in order to hopefully bring this under control. Hutcheson applauded the input and concern." It is left up to Flowers and the other students from this DTR documentation class to ensure the corrective actions A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or will stick. Story and photo by Martin Weteling, Command Affairs Specialist 598th Transportation Group |
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