DOD Leaders Address Department Priorities, Great Power Competition

By Sharon Lo Managing Editor, Defense Transportation Journal and The Source

USTRANSCOM’s number one priority is warfighting readiness, said its Commander, General Stephen R. Lyons, USA. He described the command’s purpose, “to project and sustain military power globally at our time and place of choosing.” This ability is a strategic comparative advantage unparalleled by other nations. The strategic comparative advantage created is inextricably linked to USTRANSCOM’s industry partners.

Lyons’s comments were made during his keynote address on the third day of the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting. The meeting took place October 7-10, 2019, at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri.

The reemergence of great power competition has influenced Defense Department strategy and holds significant implications for the Joint Deployment Distribution Enterprise (JDDE). “The warfighting function of sustainment and logistics must be successful under persistent all-domain attack,” said Lyons.

Cyber was one domain that Lyons addressed. Adversaries have targeted commercial partner networks as a means of accessing and disrupting USTRANSCOM’s networks. The General identified specific areas of risk to commercial networks.

Lyons also briefly discussed several areas of interest to the Fall Meeting audience before taking questions. These topics included sealift recapitalization, improvements to household goods movements, aerial refueling, and digital modernization.