Headlines From the Fall Meeting

The NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting took place October 18-21 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The meeting theme, “Resilient & Reliable Logistics… Agile and Adaptable,” focused attention on the challenges associated with operating in contested and pandemic environments spanning all domains and geographic locations. It further focused on the technologies, business processes, and innovations needed to dominate and win in all environments.

It was great to be back in person and to benefit from the interactions that only a face-to-face event can provide. Attendees also benefitted from an outstanding agenda of keynote speakers, roundtables, educational classes, and committee meetings. Here are just some of the top headlines to come from the meeting:

Colonial Pipeline Hack Shows Peril of Ignoring Military Cyber Vulnerabilities: Kendall – The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May underscores the urgency for the Pentagon to safeguard its transportation and logistics enterprise, defense officials said.

The Military is Preparing for a ‘Space Superhighway,’ Complete with Pit Stops – Those hubs would do more than refuel spaceships; they are seen as key to staying ahead of China. 

USTRANSCOM Commander ‘Laser-Focused’ on ‘Buy-Used’ Strategy for Sealift – [Van Ovost] said capacity across the air and sea is key. She committed to being “laser-focused on emphasizing a responsible ‘buy used’ strategy with the U.S. Navy,” in order to address the looming retirement of 34 of 50 vessels, and she also committed to “preserving necessary air mobility capabilities and capacity to ensure that we can deliver an immediate force tonight to meet our national security objectives.”  

Van Ovost: ‘No Other Military or Transportation Enterprise Could Have Executed’ Afghanistan Evacuation – The noncombatant evacuation operation in Afghanistan in August illustrated a resolvable logistics enterprise and highlighted the compassion of the military and U.S. partners around the world, Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, said.

Agencies, Maritime Industry and Union Leadership Debate Trainee and Worker Safety – Leaders from the Department of Transportation and Maritime Administration met with leaders from the U.S. Coast Guard, maritime industry, and labor to discuss concrete steps to protect the safety of merchant mariners and midshipmen, ensure an inclusive environment in the mariner workforce, and create cultural change to support the future of the U.S. merchant marine.

Blue Origin Eyes Participation in Military ‘Rocket Cargo’ Program – Blue Origin could become the second U.S. rocket company to sign a cooperative agreement with the U.S. military to examine how space vehicles might be used to transport cargo around the world.