MTMC reports savings for fiscal year 2000 - Military Traffic Management Command - Interview

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, Jan-Feb, 2001

The efforts of the Military Traffic Management Command to maximize efficiency paid big dividends in the past fiscal year.

MTMC returned more than five percent of its budget for fiscal year 2000 to American taxpayers.

Savings for the past fiscal year ending Sept. 30 were $57.6 million, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, Commander.

"This is a huge, huge amount," said Privratsky. "The savings came from a whole variety of things.

"Members of the entire command have been good stewards of taxpayers' dollars."

Privratsky made the announcement at a meeting of the command headquarters' employees Nov. 21.

A big chunk of the savings came from reorganizations and streamlined operations that do not require the command to hire its fully authorized allocation of employees, said Privratsky.

"We are now below program by 330 employees," said Privratsky. "That's $20 million in savings.

"There was risk in some areas--but we did not impact people."

The reduced MTMC operating costs are already paying dividends to military shippers, Privratsky said.

"Our shipping rates are the same or declining," he said. "That's why we're doing it."

Reorganizational changes already approved for the current fiscal year will drop MTMC's on-board personnel strength even further.

The organization's port units will be standardized in size, and many functions consolidated.

"We will work exhaustively to the total care of those affected," said Privratsky.

Additional reorganizational changes are ahead, he said.

MTMC will be reviewing a wide range and number of functions, including astray freight, container management, headquarters operations, and information management.