The Official Newsletter of The National Defense Transportation Association

May 12, 2020

RESOURCES:

New this week on www.ndtahq.com/covid-19-update/

• Letter from the Secretary of Defense to the Defense Industrial Base
• Guidance for Use of Embedded Computer Capabilities and External Computer Peripherals in Telework Environments
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have launched a new Commercial Routing Assistance (CRA) tool for truckers and other commercial drivers in the US.
• Upcoming NDTA virtual event: NDTA Washington DC Chapter presents, “The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Maritime Shipping & Global Logistics Networks,” May 21 at 12pm – Get an overview of COVID-19 on the maritime industry, including ways the industry is surviving the immediate impact, short- and long-term changes, and what to expect from DOD during this time.
• Greater transportation & logistics community virtual events: The Institute for Defense and Business presents “COVID-19 and the New Abnormal of the Workplace,” May 14 at 2pm – This panel discussion explores lessons from the current COVID-19 pandemic related to the workplace, accomplishing the mission, and essential operations under the new abnormal including responses and strategic future plans.

Recommended articles:

• DOD Focuses on Sustaining Industrial Base Through Pandemic
• Despite Recent Setbacks, China is Not Down for the Count
• How Canceled Sailings Will Impact US Ports – and When
• US Operations in South China Sea Aimed at Quelling Doubts Over Post-Virus Readiness, Analysts Say
• Bipartisan Senators Call for Treasury to Help Struggling Bus Industry
• 88,300 Truck Drivers Lost Their Jobs in April, and It’s the Biggest Trucking Job Loss on Record

By Lt. Col. Donna Johnson, USAF (Ret.), Bus Program Manager, Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), and Chair, NDTA Chapter Support & Membership Development Committee

National Transportation Week is this week, May 11-17, 2020, with Friday being National Defense Transportation Day. For the NDTA community, this has always been a time to come together to celebrate the hard work and contributions of those in the transportation industry. This year, the week holds new significance as the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust transportation workers into the spotlight and onto the front lines. […READ MORE…]

By Chris Erbe, DLA

The agency that traditionally contributes to America’s military readiness with items like fuel and food has so far ordered over $920 million in lifesaving supplies and equipment to support the nation’s COVID-19 response.

“Time-tested processes and partnerships developed during past humanitarian assistance operations enable the Defense Logistics Agency [DLA] to provide supplies and services that few organizations, public or private, can match,” said DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams.

“While DLA is a combat logistics support agency whose mission is to support our military services and combatant commands, its support to the whole of government during times of national crisis is indispensable,” he said of the agency. It manages about $42 billion in annual sales for the military services, 11 combatant commands, and 42 federal agencies, as well as partner and allied nations. […READ MORE…]

Education

Applying Innovative Transportation Technologies on Military Installations

Katie Lamoureux, Community Planner at Volpe, The National Transportation Systems Center, presented Applying Innovative Transportation Technologies on Military Installations during the NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting on October 9, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Innovative transportation technologies are being considered as a way to reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles on military bases. Doing so could help remedy the top transportation-related problem on installations—traffic congestion. This issue is especially problematic at the gate and has implications for readiness and security.  […READ MORE…]

Editor’s Picks

Back to the Future: Wind Power Could Cut Shipping’s CO2 Emissions
(The Maritime Executive) As a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the marine shipping industry is under significant pressure to meet ambitious carbon emission reductions of half the 2008 level by 2050. And the answer—as Bob Dylan famously sang—is blowing in the wind.

The Air Force’s Secret Space Plane Is Part of A Plan to One Day Shoot Microwaves to Earth
(Defense One) Little is known about the X-37B space plane and what, exactly, it’s been doing during missions that now total nearly eight years in orbit. But recently, the U.S. Air Force revealed some of the satellite payloads and experiments it will carry aloft this month, including one that will try converting the sun’s energy into a form that can be sent to Earth.

Amazon is Moving a Major Part of Its Air-Cargo Operations In-House, and It Could Be a Huge Blow to Airlines
(Business Insider) Amazon’s playbook in transportation has always been to work with partners and then mimic their services in-house—usually for much cheaper. Now, Amazon’s partners in air cargo are experiencing that.

The Pentagon Should Train for—and Not Just Talk About—Great-Power Competition
(War on the Rocks) The Pentagon has committed to competing with China and Russia—but it’s not training that way. If the United States is to be truly prepared for great-power competition, its forces need to train as they expect to operate in theater.

Virgin Orbit Gets Thumbs-Up for Space Force Launches From Guam
(C4ISRNet) VOX Space has received approval to launch payloads into orbit from Guam, the company announced May 7, and its first launch there will place experimental cubesats on orbit for various government agencies.

Enterprise Holdings Car Rental Brands Implement Complete Clean Pledge; Rolling Out New Innovative Rental Processes
(Enterprise Holdings) Today, the company announced the implementation of its Complete Clean Pledge program across the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, as well as its comprehensive portfolio of transportation services.

Atlas Air Revives Parked Freighters as Covid-19 Boosts Demand
(Air Cargo World) Atlas Air Worldwide has responded to increased airfreight demand over the last few months—a knock-on effect of the coronavirus pandemic—by bringing three of its Boeing 747 converted freighters, which had been parked, back into service.

FedEx Releases 2020 Global Citizenship Report
(FedEx) FedEx Corp. has announced the online release of its 2020 Global Citizenship Report (GCR), which details the company’s corporate social responsibility strategies, goals, programs, and progress.

ARC Awarded Third Party Logistics for European Wide Movement (3PL) Contract
(American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier Group [ARC]) ARC has announced it has been selected as a contract awardee for the new multiyear Third Party Logistics for European Wide Movement (3PL) Contract from the 409th Contracting Support Brigade/Theater Contracting Center based in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Over-The-Road Tech Making Life Easier
(Landstar) Landstar explores just a few tech advances designed to make life over-the-road a better experience for the professional truck owner-operator.

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