Information management directorate reorganizes.

With the adoption of commercial technology strategies, the organization and process of MTMC's information management staff is undergoing change.

The command's information management staff at Alexandria, Va., and Fort Eustis, Va., will be reduced and combined--but produce more efficient and diverse support.

"We're bringing in new integrated solutions and a new focus to how we do business," said John Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management. "Information management does not drive the operations--the operations drive information management.

"Operators identify the requirement, and we implement the technology to fill the requirement," said Smith. "We're changing the way we do business."

Key elements in the change will be:

* Adopting commercial hardware configurations.

* Integrating existing commercial software products into the Defense Transportation System lifecycle management.

* Making the information management process support business practices--not the other way around.

* Placing heavy emphasis on information technology as a key enabler for MTMC operations--on a worldwide basis.

One visible example of the new ways of doing business was the change made to the Worldwide Port System's carry-away system.

"Our people were carrying around huge, heavy boxes that required special accommodations for deployment," said Smith. "We looked at lightweight commercial alternatives. We went from five heavy boxes to three smaller ones you can put on an airplane without extra charges. So, now we're more mobile on a worldwide basis."

In another initiative, enhancements have been made to MTMC's Mobile Port Operations Centers and Deployable Port Operations Centers. The modifications include a new equipment configuration design and the initial fielding of satellite communications technology. "We also thought about the operators" said Smith.

"We included a couple of quality-of-life components, like a solar shade and an improved air conditioning unit. This will make the use of the centers more bearable in some of the austere environments where they'll be operating."

In a third initiative, the Network Response Center Optimization program will replace MTMC's current hardware suite with state-of-the-art automated technology, said Smith. Among the changes in this initiative is the replacement of a group of 55 servers in MTMC with two replacement servers. This reduction provides economy in staffing and in more automated daily routine functions.

There will be more commercial software in use at MTMC in the future, said Smith.

"There are numerous software products that can replace the current government-developed systems," said Smith. "It's about time we start leveraging the capabilities our industry partners have been using all along to provide efficiency to their operations.

"In support of the MTMC Operations Center and the functional community requirements, we are evolving towards a Web-based system environment."

One example of the move to the Web is the outsourcing of Department of Defense railcar management with Intelli-Trans, of Atlanta, said Smith. Pending examples include the ongoing implementation of the Surface Transportation Management System and the Tactical Financial Management System.

These initiatives will allow the MTMC Information Management Directorate to streamline its operation. Staffing of information management will decline by 70 employee spaces--from 273 to 193--through June 30, 2003, said Smith. Through retraining and the coordinated personnel actions, Smith plans to reduce the impact on staff members as much as possible.

"Even with the reduction in staffing, the Information Management Directorate will have acquired a new mission," said Smith.

The directorate will provide centralized information management support to the 597th Transportation Group, Southport, N.C.; and the MTMC Operations Center, Fort Eustis, Va.

"We're making information technology a key enabler for MTMC operations worldwide," said Smith. "We're no longer just a policy maker alone. We're in the direct support business on a global basis."