Eric Joiner's Freightdawg.com - The Logistics and Supply Chain Blog!

"Taking Chance": HBO's most poignant logistics story

In 2008,  I wrote an article that appears below that gave some insight into the care and integrity that our military puts into the transportation and return home of our fallen soldiers.  That story was about an an Army sergeant named Robert Joe Montgomery. 

I was reminded of this article this past Sunday night when HBO aired a TV movie called "Taking Chance", starring Kevin Bacon.   It is about the death of a US Marine Corps PFC named Chance R. Phelps, from Dubois Wyoming and the Marine Lt. Colonel, Michael Strobl, who escorts him home.  PFC. Phelps died as a result of enemy fire in 2004.  

The movie is based on the story of moving Chance from Iraq back home to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming and the lives he touched even in death, especially his escort, Lt. Col. Strobl, who did not know Chance Phelps, but was forever touched by him.   Its a story all Americans should watch and understand. 

This was a great movie. I recommend it to everyone.  If you have HBO, and missed the first airing on Feb 21, check here for future viewings.

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Tears of Transport: Fallen Soldiers - April 8th, 2008

I got an email recently from a friend who works for the Journal of Commerce. He brought an article to my attention that he thought readers here might be interested in. Chris Jones of Esquire magazine  has written a truly amazing article on the handling and tender care given to the remains of our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the most tender and careful transport chain there is. It is about the logistical care given to a fallen soldier as his body is returned to his family.

Chris Jones article is entitled "The Things that Carried Him". It is about the death of United States Army Sergeant Robert Joe Montgomery Jr. of Springfield, Indiana and the transportation of Joey's body back home to his family.  The article is a poignant reflection of the care that the military gives it's dead and the pain that these deaths bring to families, the caregivers and communities.

For many years, the bodies of deceased military men and women were carried by commercial air carriers. Today however the bodies are carried (by law) on either military aircraft or military charters. An honor guard and a general officer meet each arriving aircraft. A general officer also attends every funeral of an Iraq or Afghanistan military casualty.

My own son is 21 years old. His best friend Ben is in Afghanistan now. Ben is a kid who is like my own. He has eaten more pizza and spent more nights here than I care to think about.  Clint and Ben have known each other since they were 3 years old.  Ben's Mom and Dad are godparents to our other kids. I pray everyday that his family (and ours) never has to be the recipient of the delivery this transport chain provides.

God Bless Joey Montgomery and all the other American heroes like him.  Rest in Peace.

Eric

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Give me Liberty...(or at least less regulation!)

My friend Rob Mark runs a great aviation related blog called jetwhine.com.   Rob is an authority on both general and commercial aviation as well as a pretty good writer. Yesterday I got an email from him that was positively "agitated".   It seems our friendly Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has decided that the same security standards that apply to commercial jetliners should also apply to your neighbors Cessna 172. 

The TSA considers both potential weapons of mass destruction and they have issued intent to create rules to impose screening of all general aviation flights, cargoes and passengers just like the big jets.   This is utter nonsense.   Rob thought so too, so he asked all his blog roll participants to write about the issue.   Whatever noise the blogosphere generates has to help the general cause right?

The cost of the program would approximately $44 dollars per flight to every general aviation flight in the United States.  In return, general aviation passengers, pilots and crew and FBO operators will have to contend with unnecessary inspections,  delays in flight time, and other unnecessary expenses.    Face it, a general aviation airplane, even if fully loaded with explosives, and crashed into a building is not the same threat as a 350,000 lb B767 fully loaded with jet fuel.   Terrorists just do not use GA airplanes in this way, otherwise, they would have already!  Access is much easier and there is no current security screen.

The TSA has shown no capacity to understand the General Aviation market, therefore some "rebellion" from those of us who are AOPA members and general aviation fans, is necessary to make the former Burger King employees at the TSA pay attention.  If you are a pilot or user of General Aviation, write your congressman and do it today.  This is an important issue.  The Obama administration has shown no capacity for understanding or prioritizing transportation issues.  Your voice needs to be heard.

Eric

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Freightdawg Sports News?

It's not often I get to report on anything sports related here on Freightdawg.com.  Kevin Scarbinsky is a sportswriter for the Birmingham News.  He writes mostly about the never ending saga of Auburn and Alabama football (which is why I read him).  This week however, Scarbinsky had a very interesting article about the University of Memphis basketball team.  It seems that FedEx is a major sponsor of the hometown university sports program. 

FedEx sponsors many NCAA sports programs, but takes great care of the hometown team.   In homage to the great purple beast,  somebody at Memphis decided that for one game, the basketball Tigers would change their uniforms from their normal blue and silver to orange and purple.  This was to have been last Wednesday when the Tigers played SMU.

Now this seems politically savvy when a major local corporation puts big bucks into your mid-major university sports program.   How else to get Fred Smith's marketing team to invest more shekels into sports advertising while laying off folks and taking mandatory pay cuts?   Somebody thought the wiser of it though.   According to Scarbinsky, the U of M alumni and fan base complained bitterly to the Athletic department leadership, who promptly caved in.

According to Memphis BBall coach Mike Davis, nobody complains about FedEx's money, but changing the uniforms was another matter.  Davis did say that if FedEx ponied up a couple of million dollars, then the Tigers would wear those purple and orange uniforms!

Eric

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