Transcom, Joint Forces commanders sign joint vision statement

  • Published
  • By Maj G. P. Mirabella
  • U.S. Transportation Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill (AFPN) --  U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Joint Forces Command recently took the next step in improving the military's joint deployment and distribution efforts in support of the warfighter with the release of a joint vision statement.

The statement, signed by Gen. Lance L. Smith, USJFCOM commander, and Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, USTRANSCOM commander, represents a strategic partnership, the intent of which is to align interrelated joint deployment and distribution actions for better mutual performance and to add value for the warfighter.

General Smith, as Joint Forces Command commander, is the Department of Defense joint deployment process owner, or JDPO .  As Transportation Command commander, General Schwartz is the DOD distribution process owner, or DPO.

The statement sets forth the joint vision of the two combatant commands stating, "USJFCOM and USTRANSCOM will transform deployment and distribution into seamless, responsive, synchronized, and interoperable processes that enable rapid delivery and sustainment of joint forces and provide decision makers at all levels with the ability to make accurate, timely decisions for global force projection." 

"What we're doing at USJFCOM is taking the full benefit of our partnership with TRANSCOM," said General Smith. "We are melding existing and emerging concepts to develop capabilities and solutions that will directly benefit the joint warfighter. This statement represents the first step to a better environment that will allow the sharing and maturation of new ideas."

As the JDPO, General Smith is responsible to support joint operational objectives through his command's collaborative leadership of the joint planning and execution community. The primary role of the JDPO is to improve global force projection capability in order to better execute joint operations. 

JDPO develops improvements and transformation initiatives supporting the joint deployment and redeployment processes based on sound operational doctrine supported by processes that reflect best practices in the DOD and the private sector, information systems, and collaborative management techniques.

In his role as the DPO, General Schwartz is responsible for overseeing the overall effectiveness, efficiency, and alignment of DOD-wide distribution activities, including force projection, sustainment, redeployment and retrograde operations. 

The DPO establishes concepts and operational frameworks relating to the planning and execution of DOD transportation operations. Also, as DOD's distribution portfolio manager, General Schwartz is responsible for integrating and synchronizing DOD's portfolio of distribution systems.

"USJFCOM and USTRANSCOM efforts to deploy and redeploy U.S. forces are mutually supportive," the statement declares, "and parallel from end-to-end."

"We have a large number of common deployment and distribution activities in our joint deployment and distribution architecture," said General Schwartz, "So the partnership between USJFCOM and USTRANSCOM will result in better alignment and better integrated processes."

Today's security environment demands a more integrated military, able to deploy, redeploy and sustain troops rapidly, effectively, and efficiently with fewer resources in order to meet both its wartime and peacetime missions.

To meet this challenge, USJFCOM and USTRANSCOM, the combat commands  responsible for these functions, are seeking ways to work more closely with one another.

"The Joint Vision Statement represents the close partnership between JFCOM and USTRANSCOM in their roles as deployment and distribution process owners and will result in significant improvements in support to the joint warfighter." said Rear Adm. Mark Harnitchek, USTRANSCOM's director for strategy, policy, programs and logistics.

Included in the joint statement are five key goals to improve interrelated warfighter support: 

-- Advance faster, more efficient and reliable deployment and distribution processes. 

-- Experiment with new concepts and operationalize new expeditionary capabilities 

-- Develop joint officers, NCOs and civilians

-- Field modeling and simulation capabilities 

-- Codify the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise in doctrine and techniques, tactics and procedures.