Czech Army documentation sets example for others

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, March-April, 2002 by Ralph Riddle

With our busy deployment schedule, we have often stood on the crystalline blue waters of the Adriatic Sea and watched a vessel depart--sailing out into the world with cargoes we have loaded.

It was March 6 as the Malta Flag vessel Sochi sailed out of Rijeka, Croatia. The Russian-crewed vessel carried a mix of American military and Czech Republic Army members, and commercial cargo.

As the vessel moved toward the skyline, headed for a Southwest Asia mission, we pondered something we had not expected.

The move of 216 pieces of Czech Republic Army nuclear-biological-chemical decontamination and detection equipment had been virtually perfect. The four trains of equipment arrived early and with no surprises--a credit to the 14th Movement Control Battalion, of Vicensa, Italy. The unit's equipment was so immaculately maintained--it was better than anything else we had ever moved. Every single prime mover or jeep-type vehicle started without any assistance.

The Czech Army's documentation, done using an Excel spreadsheet, was nearly perfect. Yet, the 839th Transportation Battalion's documentation section had not started working with the Czech unit until a few weeks before the load-out date.

"This is unbelievable," said Monica Simoncini, Chief of the Documentation Team--and MTMC's 2001 Traffic Manager of the Year. "It's the most accurate data I have ever seen."

The weights, dimensions, bumper numbers and other data were all correct. Secondary loads were carefully and properly prepared and secured. This was the best-prepared and documented unit move of this size that any of us had experienced before.

The Czech Army officer in charge and his motivated soldiers displayed their best discipline and wore deadly serious expressions. We were "old hands" in Mediterranean shipments--yet they really impressed us.

We thought to ourselves: "If they only knew how squared away they were!"

We eventually did let them know. Even now, we are still not sure they believed us. This was a real lesson learned for us--and our customers. What were the leader and training characteristics the unit portrayed that led to such success?

From what we observed: It was obvious that the soldiers of the Czech Republic Army took their unit movement preparation and documentation very seriously. They accomplished their movement-related tasks with great pride and in great detail. It made the unit move very easy and fast. In observing their actions, the Czech soldiers performed their tasks with both simplicity and thoroughness. There are some valuable lessons in this for all of us.

We pondered these thoughts as we watched the Sochi--now disappearing further out in the blue Adriatic Sea. Back at home station, we moved on to new tasks: The pending redeployment of the equipment of American peacekeepers in SFOR 10. Our new goal: How do we apply the documentation lessons of the Sochi cargo with our future missions?