Moving for any reason can be a difficult task. The staff in the Distribution Management Office at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany helps ease the moving burden for the installation’s personnel.
The DMO at MCLB Albany covers a wide scope of responsibility with a staff of three.
“We are heavy in the customer service realm, for the Marine and his or her family,” Tammy Moore, branch head, DMO, MCLB Albany, said.
The office is a part of the base’s Logistics Support Division. It is responsible for the operation of official passenger travel arrangements, conducting overseas bookings, group moves and charter transportation to satisfy various Marine Corps schools, exercises and training requirements, as well as individual government travelers and their families.
This requires building relationships with the various commands to ensure proper and responsive passenger transportation services. The office gives counsel on transportation entitlements, policies and regulations, pecuniary responsibility of public funds and the use of transportation documents. In addition, DMO performs reservation and ticketing services, lodging services and car rentals.
The newest service, and currently the most popular, is passport services. DMO processes official passports two days a week, with the requirement that a DS-11 form be filled out and the applicant have official duty travel orders, an original and copy of proof of citizenship (birth certificate) and a front and back copy of a Common Access Card or driver’s license.
Passport processing began in December, and there has been a significant amount of traffic since that time.
“We provide passport services for official travel only,” Yvette Armstrong, transportation agent, DMO, MCLB Albany, said. “We process passports, visas, international driver’s licenses and diplomat passports.”
According to Armstrong, patrons should wear a solid color shirt, that is not white, for the passport photo. No military uniforms are permitted.
The Defense Personal Property Program, part of the Relocation Assistance Program, helps guide a customer through the process of streamlining move management. The individual moving can complete self-counseling, track shipments, file a claim online and request full replacement value of lost and damaged goods.
Lecovan Goodwin, quality assurance inspector, DMO, MCLB Albany, makes sure household goods safely get where they need to go during a relocation. He assists members filing reimbursement for moves individuals conduct on their own – known as the Personally Procured Move, or Do-it-Yourself Move.
“I make sure carriers are doing their jobs and not damaging goods, and that a move goes as planned as far as getting shipments out,” Goodwin said.
For passenger travel, DMO monitors and reviews Defense Travel System records, and cancels accommodations for those doing PCS travel by air – which is done through commercial airlines and Headquarters Air Mobility Command.
The logistical gymnastics involved with moving also brings along safety hazards. The DMO office prides itself on being able to manage safety issues effectively.
“We have won a safety award eight times this past year,” Armstrong said. “We are a small office, but we crank out a lot of work.”
The biggest issue regarding passports, Armstrong said, has been confusion about personal travel passports.
“We don’t provide support for leisure passports,” she said. “We do official passports, and they just have to have the specific items. There are lots of variables, but the standing thing is that they have to fill out the DS-11, and have a birth certificate or naturalization document.”
MCLB Albany’s mission as a logistics installation brings in people who travel internationally for work-related purposes. Prior to MCLB’s DMO taking on official passport duties, the closest stations to get such a passport were at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. and Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Ga.
The bottom line is to take out as much stress as possible for the customer in getting all of these tasks completed, whether it involves a passport or relocation, to ensure smooth transitions.
“We do that using expertise and knowledge, and through strong work ethics and compassion,” Armstrong said. “We like to see things at the finish line completed correctly; to see the job done and done well.”