ANNOUNCEMENTS
Military, government, and industry leaders to speak at the National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting 2020
BY MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN, U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – During the eighth annual, first-ever virtual, National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, the Honorable W. Jordan Gillis, is the conference’s initial keynoter Oct. 6.
During the conference, from Oct. 5-8, 2020, five keynote presentations, featuring senior military, government, and industry executives, will address a variety of leadership topics, including innovation, vision, resiliency, and embracing – and overcoming – disruption in the COVID-19 era.
“There’s a lot to the presentation.” said Gillis, who session is titled, “A Sustainment Vision for the Future: Embracing Innovation and Disruption to Advance.”
“A couple of things I’m going to highlight includes how COVID-19 impacted the Department of Defense’s transportation, supply chain, and logistics enterprise, as well as industry.”.
“And speaking of our commercial transportation providers, we (DoD) value their critical importance in America’s defense,” continued Gillis. “They are an essential teammate who face several challenges including economic conditions and a disruptive global environment. I’ll also talk about some DoD technology initiatives relative to our industry partners.”
In addition to Gillis, scheduled keynote speakers are U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, commander, USTRANSCOM; Bob Chapman, chairman and chief executive officer, Barry-Wehmiller Companies; Rami Goldratt, CEO, Goldratt Consulting; Dan Helfrich, chairman and CEO, and Heather Reilly, principal, Deloitte Consulting, Limited Liability Partnership. In addition to the keynote sessions, the event consists of three roundtable discussions and 80 interactive Transportation Academy courses.
Gillis has served in his current position since March 2020, providing oversight of logistics policies, practices, and efficiencies to enable readiness across the DoD and manages over $170 billion in logistics operations. He also leads budgetary, policy, and management oversight of the DoD’s real property portfolio, which consists of 26.5 million acres, more than 500 installations, over 600,000 buildings and assets valued at $1.2 trillion dollars.
“Regarding my Army service, it was the most valuable perspective. I saw how logistics was done in the past being a warfighter in contingency operations, which is the point of the spear,” Gillis stated. “Now, I have policy oversight and planning considerations. As a soldier, I was a passenger on one of the contracted air carriers, and was a recipient of material through the logistics network.”
A former Army field artillery officer, Gillis earned a Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart in 2008, while participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also has private-sector experience, serving initially in logistics and management – during the early days of internet retailing in the late 1990s and early 2000s – with McMaster-Carr, and then as an energy consultant with ScottMadden, Inc.
“The Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise is a vast and impressive network with truly amazing capabilities given the requirements with policy. Our organic (military) assets are working hand-in-hand with our private-sector partners. We however, need to change to be more agile, transitioning to a different kind of fight, near-peer and peer in Europe and the Pacific,” said Gillis. “The partnership between the public and private sectors, particularly with defense logistics, remains robust. The NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting plays a critical role in sustaining and enhancing that collaboration.”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, we underwrite the lethality of the Joint Force, we advance American interests around the globe, and we provide our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
Check out the Virtual Fall Meeting 2020 agenda at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/agenda/.
Roundtables slated for the National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Virtual Fall Meeting 2020 to discuss innovations, adaptations, and space logistical operations
BY MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN
U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(618) 220-4999/6276
michael.p.kleiman.civ@mail.mil
Release#: 20200924-001, Thursday, September 24, 2020
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Echoing the event theme of “Innovative and Disruptive…20/20 Vision for the Future,” the three roundtables scheduled for the first-ever virtual National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting 2020, Oct. 5 to 8, features participation by senior U.S. military, government, industry, and academic leaders.
For example, the first of the three panel discussions, the Senior Enlisted Leader roundtable, “Innovations Achieved in Spite of Obstacles,” happens Monday, Oct. 5, 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. CDT. Moderated by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jason France, senior enlisted leader, USTRANSCOM, the panel will be comprised of U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Brian Kruzelnick, command chief master sergeant, Air Mobility Command; U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rocky Carr, command sergeant major, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command; U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Rick Dyksterhouse, command master chief , Military Sealift Command; and U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Linda Thrasher, senior enlisted advisor, USTRANSCOM’s Joint Transportation Reserve Unit.
A 30-year career airman, France, who joined USTRANSCOM in November 2018, leads his second SEL roundtable at the Fall Meeting in successive years. As the command’s SEL, he serves as the principle advisor to the commander and senior staff on all matters concerning joint force integration, readiness, professional development, and effective utilization of the enlisted corps.
“Innovation is a crucial element in ensuring we maintain a competitive advantage over our adversaries,” said France. “Our panel will discuss creating cultures of innovation within our organizations, eliminating barriers to innovation, and giving advice to warfighters who are leading innovation efforts.”
The panel discussion occurring Tuesday, Oct. 6, 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. CDT, titled “Adapting Logistics for the 21st Century: Technological Advancements, Evolving Requirements, COVID-19 Disruptors,” will be moderated by U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Dee Mewbourne, deputy commander, USTRANSCOM. Panelists consist of Dr. Chris Caplice, executive director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics; Army and Air Force Exchange Service Director Thomas Shull; and Dr. George Friedman, founder and chairman, Geopolitical Futures.
Also, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Steve Kwast, former commander, Air Education and Training Command, facilitates the roundtable transpiring Wednesday, Oct. 7, 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. CDT, “Transportation Thru Space: A Look at Space Systems Logistics, Supply Chain Initiatives, and Capabilities.” Panel members include Dr. Greg Spanjers, chief scientist, Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory; Charles Miller, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lynk; Gary Henry, senior director, National Security Space Solutions, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation; and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, instructor, Air Command and Staff College, where he also spearheads the Space Horizons Research Task Force.
In addition to the three slated roundtables, the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Virtual Fall Meeting 2020 includes five keynote presentations, conducted by military, government, and industry logistics principals. Additionally, there will be 80 interactive courses comprising Transportation Academy, which since its initiation six years ago, has become the foundation of this annual collaborative event.
Those interested in attending this virtual conference can register at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/registration-2/.
More information on the eighth annual defense logistics forum can be found at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/ and #FallMeeting2020.
“Our current operating environment (COVID-19) is forcing us to think differently about how we perform our missions. We must take full advantage of the opportunity we have right now to harness, institutionalize, and leverage the innovative ways our warfighters are getting after our business of projecting combat power,” France stated. “To do that, we need engaged leaders at all levels that embrace innovation and change, and set the conditions for our people to bring those innovations forward.”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, we underwrite the lethality of the Joint Force, we advance American interests around the globe, and we provide our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
Variety of interactive classes to be offered at National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Virtual Fall Meeting 2020
BY MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN
U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(618) 220-4999/6276
michael.p.kleiman.civ@mail.mil
Release#: 20200818-001, Tuesday, August 18, 2020
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – During the eighth annual and first-ever virtual National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting, Oct. 5-8, 2020, attendees can participate in 80 Transportation Academy interactive courses, covering a wide range of logistics and other relevant topics.
Instructional focus areas include Acquisition and Finance; Combatant Commands and Security Cooperation; Department of Defense/Commercial Logistics; Information Technology, Cyber, and Analytics; Interactive Workshops/Training; Leadership and Human Resources; Legislation and Policy; Surface Deployment and Distribution Command workshops; and two new subjects, Blockchain Technology, and Resilience, Innovation, and Disruptors.
Initiated in 2014, this year’s Transportation Academy consists of 12 one hour in-length sessions, transpiring over the event’s first three days. Between six to eight separate classes will be virtually taught within each 60-minute block of instruction.
For each course, chat rooms will be established and comments monitored, as well as participants’ questions will be gathered for presenter and/or designated team office response. In addition, paid Fall Meeting 2020 registration ($200 for DOD/U.S. government participants) allows attendees to view or rewatch all recorded Academy classes (and also the General Sessions, which includes three roundtables and five keynotes) through Jan. 8, 2021.
“Transportation Academy, which has evolved into hosting over 100 instructors and close to 2,000 attendees in a variety of topic tracks of critical interest to government and commercial logisticians and transporters, will be delivered virtually for the first time, October 5 to 8, 2020,” said Irvin Varkonyi, coordinator, Transportation Academy, and president, Supply Chain Operations Preparedness Education, Washington, D.C. NDTA and USTRANSCOM have collaboratively – and seamlessly – adapted the traditional face-to-face format into upwards of 80 virtual sessions to be provided by instructors across the globe in real time interaction with attendees.”
Titles of the four new Blockchain Technology courses are “Blockchain 101 – What It Is and Why It’s Important to Your Business Processes;” “Blockchain – A Technical Deep Dive;” “Blockchain Interactive Training;” and “Blockchain and the Express Industry.” The initial three will be instructed by Hudson Sutherland, director, and Venkat Kodumudi, director, Blockchain and robotic process automation practices, CGI United States, Washington, D.C. Dale Chrystie, business fellow and Blockchain specialist, FedEx, Memphis, Tennessee, will teach the remaining class.
Like Chrystie, Bruce Busler, director, Joint Distribution Process Analysis Center, USTRANSCOM, has served as a previous Transportation Academy instructor. Although instructing a course “Data Analytics,” during the virtual Fall Meeting 2020, he noted all 80 classes will be of value to attendees, and active participation is built into the technology to offer an interactive experience as in previous Transportation Academies.
“The virtual sessions planned for the Fall Meeting 2020 offer the same rich benefits of information exchange and dialogue, but you have to actively engage to make the most of this new venue,” Busler stated.
Some other guest Transportation Academy instructors and their respective courses include Greg Schlegel, founder, Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, “Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency: The New Normal with the Three Rs – Respond, Recover, and Renew;” U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Heidi Hoyle, commanding general, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, “Evolving for Tomorrow: The Role of Deterrence (roundtable);” and Yariv Bash, chief executive officer and co-founder, Flytrex, Tel Aviv, Israel, “How COVID-19 Accelerated the Adoption of Drones into On-Demand Delivery.”
For a $35 administrative fee, NDTA-USTRANSCOM Virtual Fall Meeting 2020 participants will be eligible to earn 2.1 hours of continuing education units from McKendree University, Lebanon, Illinois, for attending Transportation Academy course and General Sessions.
More information on Transportation Academy can be found at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/transportation-academy-fall-meeting/.
And to learn more about the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Virtual Fall Meeting 2020, visit https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/.
“The circumstances dictating the change to a virtual Fall Meeting, being the COVID-19 pandemic, has also impacted the content of Transportation Academy. Two new focus areas for 2020 include Blockchain technology and Resilience, Innovation, and Disruptors,” Varkonyi said. “The latter will address multiple perspectives on the challenge faced by industry to survive, respond, and thrive in order to fulfill USTRANSCOM’s mission to support the logistics components of national security. The former updates last year’s Blockchain classes, as this technology evolves to strengthen the ability of organizations to optimize and safeguard global supply chain management.”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, we underwrite the lethality of the Joint Force, we advance American interests around the globe, and we provide our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
Upcoming National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting offers a comprehensive virtual agenda
BY MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN
U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(618) 220-4999/6276
michael.p.kleiman.civ@mail.mil
Release#: 20200728-001, Tuesday, July 28, 2020
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Occurring virtually October 5-8, 2020, the National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting offers a comprehensive agenda for participating U.S. military, government, and industry logisticians that consists of 80 interactive courses, three roundtable discussions, and five keynote presentations focused on the present and future of defense logistics.
“Innovative and Disruptive…20/20 Vision for The Future” serves as the apropos theme for the eighth-annual, co-sponsored conference.
Virtual roundtables include “Adapting Logistics for the 21st Century – Technological Advancements, Evolving Requirements, COVID-19 Disruptors” facilitated by U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Dee Mewbourne, deputy commander, USTRANSCOM; “Transportation Thru Space: A Look at Space Systems Logistics, Supply Chain Initiatives, and Capabilities” guided by U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Steve Kwast, former commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas; and “Innovations Achieved in Spite of the Obstacles” moderated by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jason France, senior enlisted leader, USTRANSCOM.
Scheduled keynote speakers also presenting virtually consist of U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, commander, USTRANSCOM; the Honorable Jordan Gillis, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia; Bob Chapman, chairman and chief executive officer, Barry-Wehmiller Companies, St. Louis, Missouri; and Rami Goldratt, CEO, Goldratt Consulting, Morris, Minnesota. The fifth keynote presenter has not yet been announced.
“I’m very excited and enthused about the upcoming virtual NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting. Between the three roundtables, five keynote presentations, and 80 Transportation Academy classes, event participants will be in the know on the challenges, opportunities, innovations, new technologies, and best practices impacting defense logistics,” said Jack Svoboda, USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting lead. “With the event being virtual, the incredible insights from the mix of leaders from DoD, U.S. government, industry, and academia can reach – and impact – an even greater audience.”
In addition, since the collaborative conference’s initiation in 2013, numerous educational courses, conducted by federal government and private-sector instructors, as well as academia, have provided a valuable resource for attendees. This year’s virtual Transportation Academy, comprised of 80 interactive classes/workshops, will discuss current, relevant topics and trends such as innovation and disruptors; blockchain; information technology; cyber and analytics; legislation and policy; DoD/commercial logistics; combatant commands and security cooperation; and acquisition and finance.
The virtual Fall Meeting 2020 seeks to continue the success and momentum of last year’s event. The 2019 forum, held October 7-10, at St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, St. Louis, Missouri, attracted a record 1,570 attendees, with 630 industry participants and 940 participants from various DoD and other U.S. government agencies.
Individuals interested in attending the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Virtual Fall Meeting 2020 can review the agenda and register at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/.
“Paid Fall Meeting 2020 registration ($200 for DoD/U.S. government participants) includes all four days of the conference and up to 90 days to watch – or rewatch – all recorded General Sessions (includes roundtables and keynotes) and Transportation Academy classes,” Svoboda stated. “That means registrants will have the advantage of extra time to coordinate their schedules and truly benefit in seeing every keynote, roundtable, and Transportation Academy course thru January 8, 2021.”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, we underwrite the lethality of the Joint Force, we advance American interests around the globe, and we provide our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
Eighth Annual National Defense Transportation Association-U.S. Transportation Command Fall Meeting to be Conducted Virtually October 5-8
BY MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN
U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
(618) 220-4999/6276
michael.p.kleiman.civ@mail.mil
Release#: 20200716-001, Thursday, July 16, 2020
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Registration opened July 15, 2020, for the eighth annual – and virtual – National Defense Transportation Association and U.S. Transportation Command co-sponsored Fall Meeting, scheduled for October 5-8, 2020.
The event theme is “Innovative and Disruptive…20/20 Vision for the Future.”
Individuals interested in participating in the collaborative, premier defense logistics and transportation gathering can register at https://www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/.
The Fall Meeting provides a unique opportunity for industry and Department of Defense transportation practitioners to virtually meet and discuss the challenges, changes, new technologies, and best practices within their profession. Participants represent a broad spectrum of modes and disciplines, as well as serve in entry-level to senior leader positions.
Since 2015, the event’s Transportation Academy has conducted numerous interactive classes by private sector and federal government instructors, offering a valuable educational resource for attendees. Approximately 80 virtual academic sessions, covering a wide variety of topics, are planned for this year’s conference.
“The Fall Meeting is on virtually from October 5-8. The lineup of keynotes, roundtables, and transportation academy classes is awesome,” said Jack Svoboda, USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting Command lead. “Who would have thought when we determined our theme last year, “Innovative and Disruptive…20/20 Vision for the Future,” that we would have COVID-19 to make our point?! You are going to want to attend this year for sure!”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, we underwrite the lethality of the Joint Force, we advance American interests around the globe, and we provide our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
October 5-8, 2020
