The Official Newsletter of The National Defense Transportation Association

March 13, 2023

Nearly 900 government travel professionals gathered recently in Alexandria, Virginia, for the GovTravel Symposium. Our sincere thanks to each and every one of you who made the event such a resounding success: Our co-sponsor the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), General Services Administration (GSA), NDTA Government Passenger Travel Advisory Council (GPTAC) and its committees, keynote speakers, roundtable moderators and panel members, event sponsors and exhibitors, Travel Academy instructors, Young Leaders committee, volunteers, staff members, and all of the attendees. Your contributions to Govtravels and to the entire government travel community are appreciated!

By DOD News

In celebration of Women’s History Month, top women military leaders discussed the importance of recruiting and retaining the best and most competent personnel in the military. […READ MORE…]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity making $12,423,000 available in Fiscal Year 2023 funds through the United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP), previously named America’s Marine Highway Program. […READ MORE…]

The US NDTA Virtual Chapter would like to thank everyone that attended the US Transcom Symposium on January 24th, 2023. The symposium covered educational information on Next Generation Delivery Service, Global Heavyweight Services, and Cargo Movement Operations Systems. […READ MORE…]

The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) recently released the Winter 2023 edition of its newsletter, the Defense Travel Dispatch. Inside, hear updates on MyTravel, learn what to do about lost luggage, read about DOD Preferred Commercial Lodging in 2023, and hear the latest on TSA REAL ID. […READ MORE…]

Editor’s Picks

Perennial Pilot Paucity Puts Air Force in Precarious Position
(Air Force Times)  The Air Force’s pilot corps is shrinking. A web of factors that include commercial airline hiring, military flight instructor shortages, changes in the U.S. war footing abroad, and the Air Force’s shrinking fleet has entangled the service into a long-running pilot shortfall that makes the service more vulnerable in a potential crisis.

‘Major Technical Challenges’ Hinder Path to Responsible AI, NIST Official Says
(Defense One)  New artificial intelligence tools that can perform complex tasks and chat with humans have exposed the lack of federal guardrails around the advancing technologies. Short of comprehensive federal legislation, public and private entities have looked toward agencies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology—which recently released a new AI Risk Management Framework—for guidance on how to safely and effectively design and operate artificial intelligence.

Breaking the Cycle of Incremental Acquisition Reform
(War on the Rocks)  The U.S. military has wrestled with its dysfunctional acquisition system for decades. Despite dozens of attempts to reform a process in which weapon systems take too long and cost too much to develop and operate, little substantive progress has been achieved. Band-Aid fixes and incremental, whack-a-mole acquisition reform approaches no longer suffice in today’s environment, where both technologies and threats continue to advance at an accelerating pace.

FMCSA’s People Focus Is Helping Truck Drivers, Robin Hutcheson Says
(Transport Topics)  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s top executive explained to hundreds at a trucking industry gathering that the agency’s focus to invest in people dovetails with its efforts to improve the workplace for drivers.

Space Force Offers Launch Pads to Companies as Commercial Demand Soars
(C4ISRNet)  The U.S. Space Force will allocate launch pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to four commercial launch companies as part of a broader effort to use excess range capacity to support the burgeoning market.

Upcoming IANA Session Examines Cargo Theft Trends and Methods
[Intermodal Association of North America (IANA)]  Cargo theft numbers continue to climb at alarming rates and the methods that organized rings use keep shifting. Join IANA on March 21 for a websinar to help you stay informed on the latest numbers, locations, and methods of theft occurring, in addition to answering questions critical to your operations.

National Industries for the Blind Releases Winter 2023 Magazine
[National Industries for the Blind (NIB)]  The latest edition of the NIB’s Opportunity magazine highlights the latest news from organization, including a can’t-miss cover story on how partnerships with government, commercial and training organizations help advance NIB’s mission.

Chapman Freeborn Delivers Lifesaving Aid to Turkey and Syria
(Chapman Freeborn) Chapman Freeborn, the global air charter specialist and part of Avia Solutions Group, has chartered numerous flights from across the world to deliver humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the 6th February 2023.

The Source is a free educational publication for NDTA members, conference attendees, and associates.