The Official Newsletter of The National Defense Transportation Association

November 3, 2020

Recommended articles from NDTA’s members:

• United Airlines Launches World’s First Free Transatlantic COVID-19 Testing Pilot
• Concur Survey Reveals Remote Work Poses Productivity Challenges for State and Local Governments
• FedEx Trade Index: Small Businesses View Trade, Technology as Avenues for Growth, Essential to COVID-19 Recovery

CMMC Update Webinar on Wednesday 4 November

Project Spectrum will host Katie Arrington, Amy Murray, and Shannon Jackson to answer your CMMC questions on Wednesday, November 4 at 11:30 AM EST.     

Understand the CMMC Update and Avoid Losing Your DoD Contracts

Register: https://projectspectrum.io/#!/eventRegistration/eb421cef-5e8d-4e16-879f-7a944aa57083

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ELECTION DAY 2020 IS HERE

Today is election day 2020. Millions of Americans have already cast ballots in early voting records that have, in some states, surpassed total numbers of votes cast in the 2016 election.

Should you still need to find your polling place, voter ID requirements, voter guides, or other information, visit www.usa.gov/election-day.

Here’s wishing for a peaceful voting process, clear results, and a positive and united future for our country.

By David A. Martin

At the 2020 NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting, GEN Steve Lyons announced that USTRANSCOM and SpaceX would begin to study reusable rockets for military logistics. The gravity of this announcement is difficult to overstate. A fourth mode of transportation is entering the market to compete with ground, sealift, and airlift. Terrestrial Spacelift uses cost-effective, reusable rockets to move personnel and freight across the globe via orbital launch. For example, a terrestrial Spacelift launch from Washington, DC, to Beijing should take approximately 28 minutes to reach its destination. With only a 30-minute warning, massive enemy forces could arrive on almost any doorstop in the world. This application is not merely theoretical; the technology is already in use as Falcon 9 rockets launch and recover with cargo dozens of times a year. Now, with China, Russia, India, the European Union (EU), and others developing far larger reusable rockets, Spacelift economics are poised to reshape the defense logistics industry within the next three years. […READ MORE…]

AMC Commander Announces Her Command Priorities

By Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

Amid a changing global strategic environment, Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, Commander of Air Mobility Command, has announced her four command priorities to accelerate change and maximize readiness within AMC.

“Our new priorities are to develop the force and advance warfighting capabilities to maximize full-spectrum readiness and generate the credible capacity required to project the Joint Force and ensure strategic deterrence,” Van Ovost said.

Great power competition has fundamentally changed the global strategic environment. Rapid advancements in technology and the increasingly low cost and ease of its diffusion have increased the range, speed, and lethality of adversary capabilities. The character of war has also changed as contested environments—from cyber to space—continue to grow and threats within those environments continue to increase in credibility. These changes, combined with anticipated budget constraints, threaten AMC and the Air Force’s role as the world’s most respected and dominant Air Force. […READ MORE…]

Editor’s Picks

In Military Logistics, New Pentagon Leaders Must Balance Low Costs with Resiliency
(Forbes) Obtaining foreign help has always been a centerpiece of American national security strategy. But foreign resources used in the past offered the US government flexibility for a cost that, even then, was unacceptable.

What’s Bad for Government Supply Chain is Bad for Industry Too
(Federal News Network) Hardly a day of Zoom conferences goes by without someone talking about supply chain security. But the government supply chain is ultimately also the supply chain of industry.

As Its Term Winds Down, Trump’s White House Plots a Major Naval Expansion
(Defense News) Sitting inside a restaurant just yards from Bath Iron Works shipyard on a blustery October day, President Donald Trump’s top national security aide has two things on his mind: pizza, and Chinese naval expansion in the Western Pacific. One solves a short-term problem. The other is a long-term menace.

Is Iraq’s Military Good Enough for US Troops to Leave?
(Defense One) After 17 years of fighting Saddam, AQ, and ISIS, officials say support for Baghdad and its security forces remains key to fending off Iran.

The 2020 Holiday Season Logistics Hiring Boom
(Forbes) It is the day after Halloween; what are retailers thinking about? The Holiday selling season of course. Actually, it has already kicked off.

AAR at 65
(Aviation Pros) AAR Corp. is celebrating its 65th anniversary by tackling the challenges facing aviation and implementing state of the art technology from drone usage to augmented reality.

3 Critical Questions About Oversize/Overweight Shipments
(Landstar) Although your supply chain may not require oversize/overweight shipments on a regular basis, there will likely be a time when the need arises. 

ARC Supports Major Transit Infrastructure Projects
(American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier) American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier continues to support major American transit infrastructure projects, including the Amtrak Acela fleet recapitalization and the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line service.

AIT Worldwide Logistics’ UK Facilities Earn Priority Customs Clearance as Authorized Economic Operators
(AIT Worldwide Logistics) The European Commission’s Taxation and Customs Union recently approved AIT’s three U.K. locations as Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs), granting the facilities priority customs clearance treatment. “With the potential of a hard Brexit, AIT’s AEO status in the United Kingdom will be a particularly helpful differentiator for our customers, providing them simplified and efficient customs processing and priority import handling,” said AIT Executive Vice President Greg Weigel.

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