U.S. defense transport planners look 3 years out for Iraq, Afghanistan

U.S. defense transport planners look 3 years out for Iraq, Afghanistan    While the U.S. Defense Department manages its second massive sealift since the start of the war in Iraq and ongoing operations in Afghanistan, military transportation planners are already looking ahead three years.
   “We are in this for the long haul,” said Maj. Gen. Ann Dunwoody, commanding general of the U.S. Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (formerly Military Traffic Management Command) told military and industry officials at the agency’s annual training symposium in Denver this week. “We have to stay vigilant.”
   Dunwoody said that since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, her command has overseen 330 cargo ship voyages to Iraq and Afghanistan. This included the use of 227 different vessels and more than 48,000 containers. The agency also managed 17,000 railcar moves and 108,500 truck shipments to domestic ports for shiploading.
   Dunwoody praised the industry’s role in both overseas contingencies. Glitches in the logistics process were down substantially compared to a decade ago during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
   “Industry partners did the heavy lifting,” Dunwoody said. “New business rules brought discipline to the deployment and sustainment process.”