Making Change a Priority at DOD
As assistant deputy undersecretary of defense transportation, McHugh is shaking up the relationship between DOD and household goods movers by allowing, among other things, the use of brokers to handle relocation services for military personnel.
"Partnership has not been working with industry," she said, referring to discussions between the Military Traffic Management Command and moving trade associations over the past three years. The remark was made in a speech to the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Defense Transportation Association last fall.
MTMC awarded 32 contracts valued at $55 million for transportation and related services under a pilot program covering personal property shipments from Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The re-engineering of how household goods are moved is one of top transportation goals at DOD. Other objectives include:
LI> Implementing a new defense travel system that allows electronic booking and claims.
LI> Eliminating the freight Government Bill of Lading.
LI> Evaluating the use of credit cards to pay transportation bills.
LI>Implementing automatic identification technology to capture data accurately.
LI>Strengthening strategic partnerships through enhanced and continuous negotiations.
LI> Transferring contracting authority from the military services to the U.S. Transportation Command.
LI>Enhancing resources for safety and quality inspection of small air carriers.
LI> Providing incentives to customers to make the best modal decision to get what they need when they need it.
