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United States Transportation Command News

22 May 2023

Time to Meet the US Mariner Shortage Head On

(Photo: Alpha Hernandez / U.S. Marine Corps)

We have a national and economic security crisis on our hands. It is time for Washington policymakers to stop dancing around the facts and looking for small fixes. The U.S. mariner shortage is real and it poses an unescapable threat not only to our ability to establish lines of communication to the U.S. warfighter, but also to our nation’s ability to project power through international trade.Two Congressional hearings held on March 28 illustrate the challenge. First, General Van Ovost…

15 Apr 2019

WASHINGTON WATCH: A Tale of Two Fleets

Jeff Vogel, a Member in Cozen O’Connor’s Transportation & Trade Group.

Mixed Government Support for U.S. Shipbuilding.It has been a busy start to the 116th Congress for the U.S. shipbuilding industry, with three congressional hearings in early March focused on the industry’s role as a critical component of the U.S. national security industrial base. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, which was signed into law on February 15, contained mixed news for shipbuilding programs. Through the congressional hearings and enacted legislation, two opposing themes have emerged.

07 Aug 2018

“Your nation needs you … now more than ever in our history”

The words of General Darren McDew rang true to Massachusetts Maritime Academy's nearly 400 graduates on a beautiful, albeit rain soaked, Saturday this past June.General McDew, who received an honorary doctorate at the 2018 Commencement, leads the United States Transportation Command and, in that role, oversees our nation’s projection of force wherever it is required in the world. Joining General McDew in receiving honorary doctorates were Dr. James S.J. Chao, Foremost Group Founder, Honorary Chairman and accomplished Master Mariner; the Honorable Karyn Polito, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts; and MMA Board Chair-emeritus and 1987 graduate, Mr. Wayne Mattson.

12 Nov 2013

Foss Honored for Hurricane Relief Work

John Tirpak, far right, accepting the hand-embroidered flag award for Foss. The flag is made by a Philadelphia based woman-owned business in the spirit of Betsy Ross.

When Sandy struck New York and New Jersey in October 2012, Foss applied lessons learned from the 2010 Haiti earthquake. A year after Hurricane Sandy struck America's East Coast, the federal government has honored Foss Maritime Company for its part in critical relief work. Vice Admiral Mark D. Harnitchek, director, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), made the award to the Seattle-based company during a ceremony at the agency's headquarters, citing its ability to quickly move personnel and equipment to devastated, hard-to-reach locations in New York and the New Jersey shore.

26 Jun 2013

USA Maritime Applauds Continuation of 'Food for Peace' Program

Image credit US Government

USA Maritime praises the House of Representatives for rejecting the Royce-Engel amendment that would have dramatically altered the existing PL 480 Food for Peace Program. The action in the House, according to USA Maritime Chairman James Henry, “Demonstrates a clear recognition that this cornerstone of America’s foreign aid programs is not only the most successful in addressing world hunger but provides numerous important economic and national security benefits to the American people.

24 Jul 2012

Cummings, Landry Lead Effort to Save American Maritime Jobs

U.S. Representatives Elijah E. Cummings (D, MD-07)

SEAS Act to Repeal Section 100124 of Highway Bill. U.S. Representatives Elijah E. Cummings (D, MD-07) and Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) today introduced the Saving Essential American Sailors (SEAS) Act, H.R. 6170, which would ensure American food aid is transported by American workers. The bill repeals Section 100124 of the highway bill, MAP-21. Additional original co-sponsors include Congress members Nick Rahall (D, WV-03), Rick Larsen (D, WA-02), Bennie Thompson (D, MS-02), Colleen Hanabusa (D…

07 Oct 2009

Crew of 5 American Vessels Honored for Bravery

The officers and crews of five American ships and a seafarer who extinguished a fire on a vessel will be honored for heroism by United Seamen's Service at the 40th annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea dinner on November 13, 2009. The AOTOS honors this year will go to Donald Kurz of Keystone Shipping Co., Ron Widdows of Neptune Orient Lines and the United States Coast Guard, which will receive a special award. The Honored Seafarer awards will go to the officers and crew of the Maersk Alabama, who fought off a pirate attack while maintaining control of the ship 350 miles off the coast of Somalia and whose captain was taken hostage, April 8-13, 2009.

20 Mar 2009

ASNE Naval Logistics Symposium 2009

In cooperation with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard, the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) will present Naval Logistics Symposium 2009—Logistics in Support of the Joint Maritime Strategy in Arlington, Virginia, on July 20-22 2009. The symposium will feature key topics in naval logistics from top leaders in government and industry. The Council of Logistics Engineering Professionals has joined as a supporting organization for the event. The Naval Logistics Symposium program will address the requirements and challenges associated with ensuring that effective life cycle logistics support is developed and implemented during the design…

05 Jan 2009

U.S. Transportation Command Contract

Sealift Inc. of Oyster Bay, N.Y., is being awarded a $14,141,570 fixed-price requirements contract for dedicated sealift services to transport lawful cargo by U.S. flag ships between points in the Continental United States of America (CONUS) and the terminals in Antigua and Ascension Islands. This contract is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2011. Orders placed against this contract will be funded at the time the cargo is booked. This contract is a 100 percent Small Business Set Aside acquisition with three bids received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (HTC711-09-D-0005).

04 Sep 2008

USTRANSCOM Deploys Container Security System

The United States Transportation Command recently deployed a container security system which detects tampering and helps protect military container shipments moving from to . USTRANSCOM introduced the CommerceGuard container security system, provided by GE Security, Inc., a business of GE Enterprise Solutions, to better protect its container shipments. Based at Scott Air Force Base, , USTRANSCOM directs and supervises execution of the military supply chain for the Department of Defense. The command required quick action to add high technology intrusion detection and tracking to containers being transported to the of in . The system provides shipment security throughout the supply chain.

15 Aug 2008

New Humanitarian Use for Government Ships

The Maritime Administration has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense’s United States Transportation Command to use National Defense Reserve Fleet ships, particularly DOT’s Ready Reserve Force, to support government response to civil emergencies at home, as well as for defense sealift and humanitarian response overseas. The agreement, signed by Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton and General Norton A. Schwartz, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, formalizes using the ships in ways that have been tested under emergency conditions. During the hurricane season of 2005, RRF ships in , , provided the template for one use of the ships: emergency vehicles were driven on board two RRF ships berthed in…

30 Oct 2007

Alion Wins $2.6M Navy Contract

The Navy has awarded Alion Science and Technology a $2.6 million contract for logistics management services to support the stand up of a Navy Strategic Mobility Office responsible for deployment planning and execution for all naval forces. Alion will be leading the Naval Operational Logistics Support Center’s (NOLSC) project to stand up the mobility office. The work focuses on writing the Navy’s comprehensive Force Deployment Planning and Execution (FDP&E) policy and the Navy Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (NTTP) guidance. The Navy is transitioning from a service-centric deployment philosophy to planning and operating in a joint force deployment environment. The period of performance under the contract runs for 18 months.

08 Jun 2007

USTRANSCOM Hosts Battle of Midway Observance

By Bob Fehringer (contractor), U.S. United States Transportation Command hosted a Battle of Midway observance June 6 to commemorate the World War II confrontation which changed the war’s direction in favor of the United States and the Allies. A musical prelude by the Navy Band, Naval Service Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill., opened the event and was followed by video remarks from Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chief of naval operations. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, USTRANSCOM commander, and Rear Adm. Mark D. Harnitchek, USTRANSCOM director of strategy, policy, programs, and logistics, also spoke. Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau, USTRANSCOM deputy commander and the top Naval officer in the command, was the keynote speaker.