by Captain John D. Kaylor, Jr.
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Pallets are stacked in trailer loads at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, for throughput either to the consignee or to the theater distribution center. |
From normal operations to major contingency operations, movement controllers
play a vital role in the transportation process.
Movement control in the European theater operates on the basis of centralized control and decentralized execution. The 1st Transportation Movement Control Agency (1st TMCA), headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is the theater movements manager. It accomplishes its mission through command and control of two movement control (MC) battalions and through coordination with the 27th Transportation Battalion (MC), which is the movement control center for V Corps.
The 1st TMCA's two MC battalions are the 14th Transportation Battalion (MC),
which monitors transportation in Italy, and the 39th Transportation Battalion
(MC), which oversees transportation in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
and Germany (except the northern part of Bavaria and Hessen, which are the
27th's responsibility). The MC battalions have movement control teams (MCT's)
and air terminal movement control teams (ATMCT's) that are responsible for
coordinating and monitoring transportation services for Department of Defense
and other designated agencies located or operating in their geographic area
of responsibility (AOR). The 39th also has an MCT that coordinates and monitors
transportation support of only the theater distribution center (TDC) (previously
known as the hub- and-spoke distribution system). The MCT's are essen
tially the link between the customer and the transportation provider. In
the continental United States, the installation transportation office normally
performs these functions.
Movement Control Teams
The MCT's are divided into branch movement control teams (BMCT's), highway movement control teams (HMCT's), and rail movement management teams (RMMT's). The BMCT's provide transportation support to units. The HMCT's, which are collocated with the German regional highway movement headquarters, process and coordinate road clearances. The RMMT's are responsible for rail issues.
The MCT's usually are split further into four sections: highway clearance, export, containers, and freight. (The structure and functions of a port MCT differ somewhat from the inland MCT, but the procedures they follow are essentially the same.)
The highway clearance section coordinates customer road movement bids directly with the HMCT. The export section acts as a liaison between the customer and the Ocean Cargo Clearance Authority-Europe (OCCA_E) during the processing of export shipments. It reviews each export release request (ERR) and passes it on to OCCA-E. The OCCA-E issues an export traffic request (ETR) that contains shipping instructions and vessel-booking data. This information is forwarded by the export section to the customer. The ETR establishes a spot on the ship for that customer's cargo. The export section monitors the shipment from the time the ETR is received until the cargo departs the shipping activity.
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Shrink-wrapped helicopters are offloaded from a ship in the Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. |
The primary responsibilities of the container section are to monitor the arrival, unstuffing, and pickup of containers within the MCT's AOR and minimize detention. Seven workdays are allowed for container offload before detention charges begin. The carrier is allowed 3 workdays to pick up the empty container before re-detention charges are levied.
To understand the role of the container sections at both the inland MCT's and the port MCT at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, you first must understand the flow of containers. In the continental United States (CONUS), a container is stuffed and the shipper (consignor) prepares a transportation control and movement document (TCMD). The TCMD contains cargo and movement data such as the names of the consignor and consignee and a description of the contents. When the container reaches the port, the information on the TCMD is transferred onto an ocean cargo manifest and entered into the Worldwide Port System (WPS). The data are sent over the WPS from Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC) Eastern Area to MTMC Europe. When they receive the manifest information, MTMC Europe prints hard copies of the TCMD's and gives them to the MCT Rotterdam container section. The primary responsibility of the container section is to screen TCMD's of inbound containers to ensure proper delivery to the customers.
Container vessels depart CONUS from a variety of ports. The MTMC Eastern Area maintains visibility of these vessels through the WPS. They arrive at either the Port of Rotterdam or the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. The 1318th Medium Port Command, MTMC Europe, controls both ports. Containers that are loaded on commercial trucks are delivered directly to the customer. Containers departing by rail or barge are destined for the two inland container terminals at Mainz and Germersheim, Germany, where they are processed and sent on to the customer within the 8-day delivery standard.
The freight section is the largest element of the MCT. It determines the cargo transportation mode and assigns transportation movement release (TMR) numbers. The TMR number is an alphanumeric code that denotes the mode of transportation and provides instructions for the freight movement.
The freight section is further divided into two basic functions, inbound and outbound. Inbound receives notification of shipments entering its AOR and passes this information to the BMCT or customer. Outbound issues TMR numbers for freight being shipped by the 37th Transportation Command or commercial shippers. The freight section first decides whether shipment by military trucks is possible or feasible. If military transportation is not used, the MCT then determines the appropriate commercial mode (rail, truck, or barge) based on required delivery date, cargo, destination, and cost. At the port, the freight section works directly with MTMC Europe to clear cargo to and from the port.
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A soldier guides a vehicle onto a railcar at Hanau, one of many rail
sites in Germany. |
The BMCT is a subordinate unit of the MCT and provides freight and unit movement transportation services to all customers within its AOR. It is the first stop for customers seeking transportation support. The BMCT processes all less-than-release-unit (LRU) shipment requests and forwards all release-unit shipment requests to the MCT freight section for mode determination. LRU shipments weigh less than 10,000 pounds and their dimensions do not require theater movement clearance. LRU shipments do not require TMR numbers. Release-unit (RU) shipments are of a specific size, weight, commodity, or mode that requires clearance and TMR number assignment.
After the BMCT receives a request, validates the information, and confirms the shipment priority, it fills out a freight movement request worksheet and forwards it to the MCT freight section. The freight section determines the transportation mode and priority (if an RU shipment) and assigns it a TMR number. The BMCT then makes the appropriate transportation arrangements and passes on to the requesting unit the TMR number, spot number, pull date, and required delivery date. If commercial transportation is used, the BMCT makes commercial transportation arrangements.
The HMCT is another subordinate element of the MCT. It functions as a liaison between U.S. Forces and German movement control authorities to process road movement requests for all U.S. military traffic originating within its AOR. The HMCT's primary function is to receive, verify, and coordinate all road movement requests and issue the approved road clearance according to the provisions of U.S. Army, Europe, Regulation 55-1, U.S. Army Motor Vehicle Operations on Public Roads; and German highway regulations. Convoys and movements of overweight or oversize loads require a road clearance.
The RMMT is the MCT's single point of contact for rail issues between U.S. Forces and the Deutsche Bundesbahn (the German railway system). The RMMT works closely with the freight section to ensure proper coordination and use of rail assets and assists units as necessary throughout the entire rail movement process.
Air Terminal Movement Control Teams
The ATMCT is the Army liaison with the Air Force. It arranges transport, coordinates loading, and expedites movement of personnel and materiel (inbound, intratheater, and retrograde) through Air Force terminals. There are three ATMCT's in Europe—one in Italy (Aviano); and two in Germany (Rhein Main and Ramstein Air Base). The procedures for all three are generally the same. However, Ramstein Air Base is the primary airfield for inbound and outbound shipments of military cargo and personnel. Units that want to ship on Air Force C-141 Starlifters must send a TCMD through the local BMCT. The TCMD contains the basic cargo and movement data that the ATMCT needs to book the cargo on a plane.
When cargo arrives at Ramstein, the Air Force unloads the plane using Air Force materials handling equipment. The pallets are offloaded in the pallet yard. Loose cargo is sent to the warehouse, where it is sorted by customer. It takes 6 to 10 hours to offload a plane completely. ATMCT pallet yard personnel check the pallets against the air manifests. Then the pallets are stacked in trailer loads for throughput either to the consignee (single or multistops) or to the TDC. Sequence sheets are filled out and given to the Air Force. Air Force personnel create the TCMD and load the trailer. ATMCT personnel review the TCMD, check it against the trailer, assign a TMR number, and call the 37th Transportation Command to pick up the trailer.
Funding
The 1st TMCA is the USAREUR transportation fund manager. It allocates funds, through the battalions, to the MCT's by issuing a fund certification authority (FCA) commercial funding memorandum. In short, the FCA provides to the MCT the authority to cite and certify fund availability directly for commercial transportation of U.S. Government freight. The MCT then allocates the appropriate funds to each BMCT. Only the commander or traffic manager of the MCT has the authority to authorize the use of commercial transportation (within allocated fund cite authority) and only when military highway assets are not available. Limitations on the use of these funds (called P42 funds) are explained in the FCA memo. Moves not funded by P42 funds usually are covered by a unit's own fund cite or special funds allocated for a particular exercise or contingency.
I have discussed only a few of the responsibilities and functions of movement controllers in the European theater. Easily identified by their red arm bands, movement controllers are found anywhere transportation moves are happening. From normal operations or exercises to major contingency operations and deployments, they play a vital role in the transportation process.
Captain John D. Kaylor, Jr., is assigned to the 27th Transportation Battalion (MC) in Wiesbaden, Germany. He was assigned previously as an MCT operations officer in the 39th Transportation Battalion (MC). He has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Florida Southern College and is a graduate of the Transportation Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, and the Combined Arms and Services Staff School.