Rapid software update improves ground-transport management during operation

Operation Allies Welcome
Buses filled with Afghan evacuees line up outside a clothing distribution center during Operation Allies Welcome at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Sept. 7. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. U.S. ARMY PHOTO/SPC. ERIC CERAMI

Credit: Operation Allies Welcome - Opera

Credit: Operation Allies Welcome - Opera

Buses filled with Afghan evacuees line up outside a clothing distribution center during Operation Allies Welcome at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Sept. 7. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. U.S. ARMY PHOTO/SPC. ERIC CERAMI

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE – In an effort to help the U.S. Air Force manage ground transportation during Operation Allies Welcome, the Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate’s On-Line Vehicle Interactive Management System team updated a management platform specifically for task force members involved in the operation at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico.

Since the task forces were stood up overnight to support OAW, the capability requirement to function independently as their own organization did not exist and needed to be established.

Prior to the update, or more specifically, the site code creations, the task forces’ data were getting tangled in with the local ground transportation sites, creating confusion and increasing work times to sift through irrelevant information.

The combined usage of sites by local base units and the task forces caused disorganization of vehicle assets, confusion on who was providing support, and delayed service times. The frustration in the field was evident prior to these site creations and was voiced by users from the Task Forces.

The OLVIMS team partnered with the task forces and the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center to define the requirements for new site codes. Once established, the sites were created and necessary permissions were granted to the users of these new sites within 12 hours.

The creation of these site codes enabled a clear sight picture for ground transportation operations directly involved with the movement of cargo and passengers coming in from Afghanistan. It ensured that passengers and cargo got to where they needed to be, on time, and without any delays that occurred previously.

“First, thank you [OLVIMS team] for getting us our site code up and running,” said Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Vanderford, who serves as the NCO in charge of ground transportation at the McGuire AFB Task Force. “It makes tracking requests and data so much easier. It has been amazing to be part of this mission and making history once again for the ground transportation career field.”

“OLVIMS has helped us track our data and the requests we have scheduled,” added Tech. Sgt. Curtis Sutton, who oversees ground transportation operations at the task force at Holloman AFB. “Starting from scratch we had some concerns on how to improve processes and schedule runs. Things were challenging at first, but once we had our own site, we were a well-oiled machine, handling business like we would anywhere else.” As of Dec.28, the joint task forces at McGuire and Holloman, have moved more than 25,000 passengers and 5.6 million pounds of cargo across 200,000 miles.

“It’s nice when our program can push a small change to our system that delivers such a large capability to our field users,” Senior Master Sgt. Ben Weavers II, a senior enlisted leader with the directorate. “I’m proud that our team was able to ‘delight the user’ and play a role in supporting the evacuation efforts.”

About the Author