SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The U.S. Transportation Command, through its service components, Air Mobility Command and the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, manages common-user aerial ports and seaports for the combatant commands. SDDC serves as the Department of Defense’s maritime Single Port Manager and is a crucial component of USTRANSCOM’s Defense Transportation System.
The SPM performs functions necessary to support the strategic flow of deploying and redeploying forces, unit equipment, and sustainment supply in the sea ports of embarkation and hand-off to Combatant Commanders at sea ports of debarkation.
In our current battle space, SDDC Headquarters, brigade, and battalion commanders exercise command and control of single port management at over 100 ports worldwide. These commanders lead cross-functional sets of transportation professionals, including experts in traffic management, documentation, operations, finance, information technology, and cargo handling.
The Department of Defense uses the single port management approach for all worldwide common-user aerial and seaport operations. As outlined in the Unified Command Plan, USTRANSCOM provides worldwide, common-user aerial and seaport terminal management and may provide terminal services by contract.
In areas not served by a permanent USTRANSCOM presence, SDDC deploys port management teams to manage the ports in concert with a designated port operator and an AMC contingency response force.
SDDC has port terminal management responsibility through all phases of the theater port operations continuum, from a bare beach deployment to a commercial contract fixed-port support deployment. The team establishes direct water terminal operations, including supervising movement operations, port handling contracts, cargo documentation, CONUS security operations, arranging for logistical and life support, and the overall flow of information.
In addition to providing strategic deployment status information to Combatant Commanders and managing the workload of the seaports of debarkation port operators, SDDC transportation brigades and other SDDC units manage ports that use contracted labor.
As the DOD’s Single Port Manager, SDDC is the only U.S. Army unit worldwide that manages common-user sea ports and is key to moving military combat power. As stated by James Mattis, 26th Secretary of Defense, "If you cannot move, you are not lethal.”
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