Wartrace Conference: MTMC military units exchange concepts, ideas.

Army Reserve transportation units should adopt the same operational themes that are proving so successful for the Military Traffic Management Command.

That was the charge of Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, Commander, to both active-duty and affiliated Army Reserve transportation units, at MTMC's annual Wartrace Conference.

"Go back and do something about it," said Privratsky. "It takes experts to analyze what you've done to do better in the future.

"To tackle that, we'll concentrate our operations at a single location at Fort Eustis--the heart of MTMC--with command and control of all three of our groups.

"That's the beginning of end-to-end transportation management."

Additional gains are possible by further leverage of industry, said Privratsky. "MTMC, in coordination with industry, is delivering cargo through Russia and Pakistan. The military is not touching any of it--and that's a big deal.

"We must unshackle ourselves from the past to better understand transportation. Our commercial industry partners can work very well and will be with us wherever we go.

"They are great Americans. You all need to know that a significant change has taken place as we better posture ourselves to support the Department of Defense."

The Williamsburg, Va., conference, May 31-June 2, provided key transportation officers and noncommissioned officers with information on such subjects as training management, readiness, Wartrace alignments, unit flexibility and mobilization.

The increasingly important role of the Operations Center at Fort Eustis was stressed by Brig. Gen. Barbara Doornink, Deputy Commanding General and Director of Operations.

"We are the command's single touch button for all operational matters," said Doornink. "It is the first time in the command's history, and this is very important to our future. Demands have gone sky high for ithe capabilities we bring. An important part of who we are is the value we bring."

Doornink told the audience that MTMC cannot do its mission without its Reserve structure. Some 55 percent of MTMC's wartime capability is in the Reserve Component.

"We put our Reserve structure to the forefront all the time," said Doornink. "Our value added is up front, we have to be razor sharp, trained and ready."

That relationship is symbolized by Col. Bob Askey, activated in response to terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Askey is now serving as Deputy Chief of Staff of MTMC's Plans, Readiness and Mobilization.

"The MTMC Wartrace conference was a success, and it provided the opportunity to strengthen and build on relationships with our Wartrace counterparts," said Askey. "MTMC Operations Center will continue to work closely with each internal and external customer to improve communication and increase our relevance."

The Active and Reserve working relationship in MTMC was addressed by the conference's guest speaker, Maj. Gen. Richard Wightman, Military Executive to the Chairman, Reserve Forces Policy Board.

"MTMC became the model for active and Reserve component integration before it became fashionable to do so," said Wightman, who formerly served as MTMC's Deputy Commander for Mobilization.

In keeping with the ambience of the nation's historical centerpiece, this year's annual MTMC Wartrace Conference opened with Colonial Williamsburg's own Fife and Drum Corps serenading the attendees with a patriotic melody.

The performance was especially meaningful to Maj. Betsey Stange, of the 194th Transportation Detachment, Tampa, Fla., who was attending her first Wartrace conference.

"I was flooded with memories from my childhood," said Stange. "The great-grandfather of one of my schoolmates played the fife in the famous patriotic scene painted about 1875."

"The Spirit of '76" pictures a fife player and two drummers leading American troops into a Revolutionary War battle."