SDDC cases colors at Fort Eustis, Va.

By Erik Johnson, SDDC Command AffairsJuly 1, 2010

Del Mar Building
The Del Mar Building at Fort Eustis, Va., was home to SDDC's Operations Center for nearly a decade through Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Unified Response and many other demanding logistical challenges. Base Reallignment and Closure 2005... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command's headquarters formally cased its colors at Fort Eustis, Va., July 1.

In a ceremony at the Del Mar Building in Fort Eustis, Maj. Gen. James L. Hodge, commander, SDDC; Maj. Gen. (retired) Monty Montero, former commander, Military Traffic Management Command; and Command Sgt. Maj. James Riddick, command sergeant major, SDDC, lowered the command's colors in preparation for the SDDC Operations Center's move to Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

"Today we celebrate the end of an era in the proud lineage of the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command," said Scott Ross, SDDC's director of command affairs. "The Base Realignment and Closure commission of 1995 brought our organization to Fort Eustis and, ironically, the 2005 BRAC is the impetus for the end of this chapter in the command's history."

The move is the final stage of SDDC's consolidation under BRAC 2005, which recommended that SDDC headquarters, Operations Center and Transportation Engineering Agency be consolidated from multiple facilities in Virginia and collocated with U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base.

In addition to Hodge and Montero, Dr. Patricia Davis and Debra Del Mar, daughters of former MTMC commander Maj. Gen. Henry R. Del Mar, SDDC's longest-serving commander, attended the ceremony at the building named for their father.

During the ceremony, 60 SDDC employees who have been with the command since the initial move to Fort Eustis were awarded with an SDDC-Fort Eustis plaque.

Hodge recounted a few of the challenges SDDC faced during the command's time at Fort Eustis.

"For almost 12 years, Fort Eustis has been a focal point of this command," said Hodge. "And for just under a decade, the Del Mar building has been our operational nerve center."

In 1998, MTMC - now SDDC - was moved to Fort Eustis as part of BRAC 1995. In 2000, the MTMC Operations Center was moved to Fort Eustis from Alexandria, Va., in order to consolidate the command's operations. During this stressful transition, MTMC also had to meet the daunting task of supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

"And just as you were getting used to supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the challenge of deploying and sustaining forces for a campaign to topple the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq tested you again," said Hodge.

Hodge praised the efforts of Fort Eustis personnel across the board, from the incorporation of the 597th Transportation Group to the beginnings of the BRAC 2005 move.

"It is a considerable compliment to say that you have maintained the mission despite BRAC," said Hodge. "But you also have helped this command improve and respond to emergencies. Whether it was standing up Crisis Action Teams to face hurricanes in September 2008 or to respond to the deadly Haitian earthquake this past January, you have been ready to do what needs to be done."

SDDC serves the Department of Defense by planning, booking, shipping and tracking cargo; conducting port operations and managing personal property moves for servicemembers, federal employees and their families.