More Senate Confirmations, Trade War Escalates, and more top news
Fall Meeting Presents Development Opportunity for Young Professionals
One of NDTA’s top priorities is our investment in helping our next generation of professional’s succeed within their military, government, and industry careers or transition to the next great challenge. During our annual Fall Meeting we are enthused to announce our Young Professional Development Breakfast on Tuesday, 8 October 2019, 7:00-8:00am. This session is ideal for early and mid-career individuals seeking to further their professional development, as well as rewarding for senior leaders wishing to give back to the community by passing along experiences and fundamental keys to success.
For more information, visit 2019 NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting.
Government & Military News
Confirmations
Key government and military vacancies are continuing to be filled, here is who the Senate has confirmed this week (thus far):
- Senate Confirms Milley as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Defense News) READ MORE
- Norquist Confirmed as the 34th Deputy Defense Secretary (Military.com) READ MORE
Senate Passes Budget Deal and Suspends Debt Ceiling Until 2021
(CBS News) The Senate has passed a Trump-backed budget deal that will raise spending by $324 billion and will suspend the debt ceiling until July 2020. READ MORE
Here’s Why the Marine Corps is Losing Experienced Pilots—and What It Can Do to Fix It
(Task & Purpose) The Air Force has garnered most of the attention regarding pilot shortages over the past few years, but it’s hardly unique to their service, as the entire military is struggling to keep its aviators in the midst of an airline hiring frenzy and a strong economy. READ MORE
Top US admiral Nominee Says Foreign Partners Would Do Most of the Work in Gulf Plan
(The Hill) The United States envisions a plan to escort ships through the Gulf region being carried out “80 or 90 percent” by allies and partners, the admiral nominated to lead the Navy said Wednesday. READ MORE
Hypersonics: From Zero to 40 Plus Flights in Next Four Years
(Breaking Defense) The Pentagon plans to nearly double its spending on hypersonic-related technologies in fiscal year 2020—if Congress approves it—and hopes to run around 40 flight tests of hypersonic vehicles over the next four years, Pentagon officials say. READ MORE
More US Military Power Needed in Antarctic to Deter Malign Activity, General Says
(Military.com) If the US is going to do more work in cold weather climates to deter malign activity from Russia and China, one Air Force general says it will need more equipment to operate full-time in the South Pole. Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Charles Q. Brown said he’d like to see a boost in “some of the capability we have, but don’t have a lot of.” READ MORE
Industry News
Trump Ratchets Up China Trade War with New Tariffs
(Transport Topics) President Donald Trump abruptly escalated his trade war with China, announcing that he would impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports that aren’t yet subject to U.S. duties after setbacks in negotiations with Beijing. READ MORE
Autonomous Trains Are Ready to Roll
(Fortune) If all goes as planned in August, a freight train will chug down a track near Pueblo, Colo.—entirely controlled by computers. READ MORE
Analysis: One-Third of Class 8 Truck Miles Are Driven Empty
(Supply Chain Dive) The number of miles trucks drive empty is widely underestimated, according to an analysis from trucking startup Convoy, due to a lack of measurement standards and natural human biases. READ MORE
How is Machine Learning Influencing Supply Chain Management?
(Entrepreneur) Determining innovative patterns in supply chain data through machine learning enabling excellent customer experiences can transform the prospects of most logistics businesses. READ MORE
US Warns Small Planes Are Vulnerable to Hacking
(New York Post) The Department of Homeland Security issued a security alert Tuesday for small planes, warning that modern flight systems are vulnerable to hacking if someone manages to gain physical access to the aircraft. READ MORE
Member Highlights
Five Reasons Why Anchorage is Coming in From the Cold as an E-Commerce Hub
(Panalpina) Amazon’s recently-launched daily cargo flights to Anchorage have put the spotlight on this Alaskan air hub. Panalpina shares its thoughts on Anchorage’s hidden advantages as an air freight and e-commerce hub. READ MORE
ZEAMARINE Secures Largest Contract to Date
(ZEAMARINE) ZEAMARINE has successfully been awarded a large ocean transportation contract from Schenker Australia Pty Limited for the BHP South Flank Project in Western Australia. The project scope encompasses the transportation of approximately 450,000 freight tons from China to Port Hedland, Western Australia, with the majority of the cargo being heavy and oversized modules. READ MORE
How One State Changed the Compliance Game with Automated and Integrated Travel and Spend Management
(SAP Concur) For state and local governments, transparency and accountability are everything. But as spending becomes increasingly decentralized and employees make more of their own spending decisions, the risk of overspending, human errors, and even fraud, goes up. READ MORE
Amerijet Deploys Automated Warehouse Technology at Miami Hub
(Amerijet) Warehouse automation has come a long way in recent decades technology paves the way for more digital automation, robotics and even artificial intelligence. Recently, Amerijet International Airlines used warehouse automation to increase their capabilities at their new state-of-the-art warehouse facility at the Miami Airport. READ MORE
Comfort on Pace to Open More Than One Hotel Per Week In 2019
(Choice Hotels) The Comfort hotels brand, franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc., welcomed a new Comfort Suites just outside of Columbus, Ohio, as it announced that the brand is on pace to open more than one hotel per week this year. READ MORE
NDTA News & Events
NDTA 75th Anniversary
We are excited to celebrate NDTA’s 75th Anniversary which will culminate with our Fall Meeting in St. Louis, 7-10 October 2019. The NDTA staff and key volunteers are working to put together a significant amount of celebratory opportunities. We’ve commissioned a piece of art which “tells the story” of NDTA’s history. It will be available at all major events. The first soft “unveiling” was held at the GovTravels Symposium and the Fall Meeting will host our official unveiling. We have also committed to publishing a 75th Anniversary Yearbook which will republish much of the editions from the 50th and 65th yearbooks—and years 66 through 75. The yearbook will be a limited publication to be primarily handed out to Fall Meeting registrants. We have thought extensively regarding the appropriate way to go about fundraising for the celebration—and have decided to ask for modest contributions. To find more information on these fundraising efforts and to make a donation, please visit: www.ndtahq.com/ndta-75th-anniversary-funds-campaign/. As we look back, we are also looking ahead to the future—continuing to educate and add value through dialog and relationship building. Thank you for all of your support!
Find NDTA chapter events on the NDTA CALENDAR.
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