U.S. European Command (EUCOM), J4 Deployment and Distribution Operations Center got of to a great start at the 2009 Coalition Movement Conference. Brigadier General Mate Ostović, Commander, Croatian Armed Forces Support Command, set the stage with his opening remarks and warmly received the participants. The General commented, “Conferences like this one are very important for gaining common knowledge and understanding of important issues that we all face in our work. Whenever friends and allies get together, great opportunities arise.” With that comment the conference proceeded with a great exchange of information on how we at EUCOM, along with CENTCOM, and TRANSCOM, can communicate and work better to improve the Coalition Partners Deployment and Re-deployment program for NATO and 18 Coalition Partner Nations.

We had a full 2-day agenda, it started with an update from the EUCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (EDDOC) on their roles and responsibilities and moved right into CENTCOM Coalition Cell (CCC) procedures for requesting lift support. Before the conference was over, we’d covered a wide range of topics to include proper Load Planning, Airlift Certification for Non-US equipment, and the use of Sea assets for Coalition Deployments and Redeployments.

One comment heard throughout the conference focused on the Deployment support provided by the EUCOM J4 EDDOC which seems to be at the heart of Coalition movement success. The EDDOC is engaged everyday with our coalition partners, building relationships and constantly improving our partner deployment capabilities. One of our goals in the EDDOC is to continue this support and add engagement/visits to all our partner nations on a monthly basis.

Jorge L. Cordero, LTC, U.S. Army
J-4 Logistics Action Officer
U.S. European Command