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U.S. TRANSCOM wins Defense Department award

  • Published
  • By Bob Fehringer
  • U.S. Transportation Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  U.S. Transportation Command earned a first place award in the Department of Defense Check It Campaign. Members of the command's Program Analysis and Financial Management Directorate, together with its and Strategy, Programs and Logistics Directorate here, tied for the top award with the Marine Corps Logistics Command Supply Management Center, Albany, Ga.



On July 28, 2006, the DoD launched the Check It Campaign to heighten awareness on the importance of effective internal management controls. The program's slogan is: "Check It. What gets checked gets done." The Check It Campaign enhances U.S. TRANSCOM's Management Internal Control program by aiding in the recognition of MIC issues and improvements made throughout the year to be included in the annual Statement of Assurance to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.



During Phase One of the Check It Campaign, DoD concentrated on communicating awareness each month for various functional areas. Phase Two focused on process improvements. The DoD developed a bi-annual (February and August) contest starting in February 2008 to recognize components that can provide the best evidence of improvements to a process as a result of "checking it."



According to Paul Meyer, U.S. TRANSCOM accountant, the designation of U.S. TRANSCOM as the Distribution Process Owner in September 2003 by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was the principal event leading to ground-breaking advancements in developing improved distribution solutions.



"U.S. TRANSCOM provided input for the August 2008 Check It Campaign," Meyer said, "and finished tied for first place out of 26 applications received by Office of the Secretary of Defense-Comptroller.



"To merit this esteemed recognition," Meyer continued, "we focused on the continued efforts and innovations accomplished by U.S. TRANSCOM as the DPO and our national partners in the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise."



David Curry, a U.S. TRANSCOM senior analyst, said the U.S. TRANSCOM Check It Campaign submission:



· Summarized the DoD distribution problem (from the Joint Logistics (Distribution) Joint Integrating Concept)



· Identified the Distribution Transformation Task Force and its members as the actors involved in solving the problem



· Described the Joint Deployment Distribution Operations Center and Joint Task Force-Port Opening as examples of world-class solutions



· Exhibited the U.S. TRANSCOM Strategic Plan as the roadmap for on-going improvement actions



· Documented DPO Cost Savings as a quantitative measure of improvement. From fiscal year 2004 through February 2008, the JDDE saved $1.88 billion.



According to Meyer, the climax of the Check It Campaign is a significant event with Deputy Secretary of Defense Honorable Gordon England hosting an award ceremony, along with the Under the Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Tina Jonas as a sponsor, to acknowledge winners and participants in the contest. The award date has yet to be determined.