The Big Switch

摘要

The U.S. Transportation Command (Transcom) is on the cusp of fundamental change, but it is fighting to overcome some impediments that could hamper its new role as the military's chief manager of logistics and transportation. Pentagon leadership in 2003 bestowed on Transcom the title — and the increased responsibility — of Distribution Process Owner (DPO), propelling the command into new territory. With sweeping authority over logistics strategies and processes for all of the Defense Department, Transcom — one of the nation's nine unified combatant commands — has embarked on a number of initiatives. But its new role has not come without controversy ranging from initial bureaucratic wrinkles to criticism about the way it plans to implement centralized oversight.