TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN, THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, Chairman, Joint Committee on Defense Production, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In accordance with your request I am pleased to submit with this letter a summary of the mobilization activities of the Department of Transportation for the past fiscal year. Although the Department has been in existence only since April 1, 1967, its mobilization activities and functions are largely a continuation of those which have been carried out by its constituent agencies under their respective preparedness programs. Our report reflects this fact and covers the full year even though the activity might largely have been under another department, such as the Department of Commerce in the case of the Federal Highway Administration or as an independent agency in the case of the Federal Aviation Administration. Coordination has been effected with the other departments concerned to avoid unnecessary duplication of reporting. This report is a summary of the mobilization activities of the Department of Transportation during the past fiscal year, July 1, 1966, to June 30, 1967. It is the first such report to be prepared by the Department of Transportation, which came into being only within the last quarter of the year.1 Accordingly, that part of the report dealing with departmental activity, as such, treats only of actions from that date forward although based upon a background of preparatory measures initiated during the formulative period of the new Department. Those portions dealing with emergency management of resources and of activities of the five operating administrations cover the full year and provide continuity from corresponding coverage (although under different departmental or agency auspices) in last year's report. The report is divided into two major headings and various subheadings as indicated below: I. Departmental: A. Mobilization programs. B. Program authorities. C. Assignment of responsibilities. D. Continuity of government. E. Emergency management of civil transportation resources. 1 Authorized by Public Law 89-670, 89th Cong., H.R. 15963, Oct. 15, 1966. Established April 1, 1967, pursuant to Executive Order 11340, Mar. 30, 1967. II. Operating administrations: A. Federal Aviation Administration. B. Federal Highway Administration. C. Federal Rail Administration. D. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. I. DEPARTMENTAL A. MOBILIZATION PROGRAMS There are two basic mobilization programs conducted within the Department; all others are essentially elements of these: 1. Continuity of government. 2. Emergency management of civil transportation resources. B. PROGRAM AUTHORITIES Authority for mobilization program activity within the Department of Transportation is contained in the Department of Transportation Act; the statutes pertaining to the respective operating elements of the Department; the Defense Production Act, as amended; Executive orders; and policies and directives of the Office of Emergency Planning, Executive Office of the President. C. ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES The Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Programs is responsible for the overall direction and coordination of the development and execution of contingency plans to assure continuity of essential functions of the Department and for emergency transportation resource management. The Director, Office of Emergency Transportation, functioning under the general direction of the Assistant Secretary, has been assigned the primary responsibility for the day-to-day direction and coordination of the emergency preparedness programs at the national and field levels. D. CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT The continuity of government program is responsive to guidelines published by the Office of Emergency Planning. Basic instructions to secretarial officers of the Department are provided in a classified manual of "Emergency Action Documents, Department of Transportation." A copy was placed in the hands of key departmental officials at a briefing on their emergency responsibilities held 2 days before establishment of the Department. The manual will be updated and further briefings conducted as appropriate. An unclassified manual providing instruction to other personnel of the headquarters staff is in process of preparation. Lines of succession have been established for the Office of the Secretary and for all key positions within the Department. Individuals designated in a line of succession or as alternates to others holding important mobilization assignments have been advised and instructed concerning such designation. A series of briefings has been planned to acquaint all concerned with their mobilization responsibilities. To the extent practicable these will be held at the respective relocation sites. Initial identification of relocation cadres from the Office of the Secretary has been accomplished. These lists will be revised and expanded as the departmental structure develops. The operating administrations of the Department have reviewed and are updating their respective emergency readiness plans to reflect their new functions and organizational relationships as a part of the Department of Transportation. A Department command post has been established within the Federal Office Building housing the Office of the Secretary. The Federal Aviation Administration is providing communications center service to the departmental headquarters and has been established as the focal point for the receipt and transmittal of alerts and other emergency messages. By interdepartmental agreement interim arrangements have been made with the Department of Commerce for the latter to accommodate Department of Transportation headquarters relocation elements at the Department of Com merce site on a shared basis. Initial steps have been taken toward selection or development of a separate relocation site for the Department of Transportation, most probably collocated with one or more of its operating administrations. Separate site facilities have also been arranged for the national and regional emergency transportation centers which would become the focal points for the emergency management of civil transportation resources under a national mobilization situation. A series of studies has now been launched (1) to assure provision for adequate emergency communications support, (2) to optimize the distribution and utilization of all relocation sites for departmental use, including those of its contingent elements and of associated Federal transportation agencies, (3) to assess the need for and to provide, as determined necessary, survival supplies and equipment and operational "working tools," resource data, references, material, and so forth. E. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OF CIVIL TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES Public Law 89-670, the Department of Transportation Act, provides, among other things, that "the Secretary *** shall *** exercise leadership under the direction of the President in transportation matters, including those affecting the national defense and those involving national or regional emergencies." Under this authority and direction the Secretary is responsible for the development and coordination of overall policies, plans, and procedures for the provision of a centralized control of all modes of transportation in an emergency-responsibilities that formerly fell to the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Executive Order 10999. 1. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION The Office of Emergency Transportation, which had served as the focal point for transportation resource planning in the Department of Commerce, now is located within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, as an element of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Programs, with these plus additional responsibilities. Under the overall emergency resource management guidance of the Office of Emergency Planning and policy direction of the Secretary of Transportation. it coordinates the transportation preparedness planning of the respective Federal transportation operating agencies both within and without the organizational structure of the Department of Transportation. 2. THE EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM These transportation resource responsibilities are fulfilled by a broad-based emergency transportation program by which the Office of Emergency Transportation provides leadership and coordination for the development of integrated plans for the maximum utilization of available civil transport capacity to meet overall essential civil and military needs in an emergency. A summary of this program follows: (a) General objectives The general objectives of the emergency transportation program continued essentially unchanged from fiscal year 1966 except for the effect of the transition from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Transportation by which action the Secretary of Transportation has become the focal point in the Federal Government for the coordination and direction of civil transportation resource planning. These program objectives, in broad terms, were: Develop long range programs designed to integrate the mobilization requirements for movement in an emergency of all forms of commerce with all forms of national and international transportation systems including air, ground, water, and pipelines. Initiate joint planning of transportation programs involving more than one department and/or agency; utilize fully the capabilities of all agencies qualified to assist. Obtain, assemble, analyze, and evaluate data on the requirements of all claimants for all types of civil transportation to meet the needs of the military and of the civil economy. Consolidate, evaluate, and interpret both current and projected resources and requirements data developed by all Federal agencies concerned with moving passengers or cargo by all modes of transportation for the purpose of initiating actions designed to stimulate Government and industry actions to improve the peacetime structure of the transportation system for use in an emergency. Conduct a continuing analysis of transportation problems and facilities in relation to long range economic projections for the purpose of recommending incentive and/or regulatory programs designed to bring all modes of transportation in balance with each other, with current economic conditions, projected peacetime conditions, and with emergency conditions. Develop plans and procedures which would provide for the central collection and analysis of passenger and cargo movement demands of both shipper and use agencies as they relate to the capabilities of various transport modes in existence at the time; control or delegate control of the priority of movement of passengers and cargo for all modes of transportation by mode or within a mode and develop policies, standards, and prcedures for emergency enforcement of controls through the use of means such as education, incentives, embargoes, permits sanctions, claimancy policies, etc. Develop plans for a national program to utilize the air carrier civil air transportation capacity and equipment, both domestically and internationally, in a national emergency. Prepare plans to claim supporting materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out the transportation planning and coordination responsibilities from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency. Supervise or conduct research in areas directly concerned with carrying out transportation emergency preparedness responsibilities within the framework of Federal research objectives; designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups; and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in the transportation area. Develop as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department emergency plans and programs, and the emergency organization structure with the implementing capabilities required thereby, on the basis that the Department will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. Alleviate the transportation problems which result from nondefense emergencies including natural disasters, and work stoppages. Although this objective is not part of those responsibilities assigned under the Defense Production Act, the preparedness of both Government and the transportation industry for nondefense emergencies-and the experience which can be gained from operations in nondefense emergencies can contribute very substantially to improving our readiness for defense emergencies. (b) Relationship to defense plans The emergency transportation program is an integral part of national defense planning. It provides for the central collection and analysis of transportation requirements of both shipper and user agencies-including the Department of Defense under varying conditions of national emergency; it further provides for the determining of relative priorities of these requirements and the allocation of available transportation resources based on these priorities. Because the transport of "people" and "things" is of such importance in our complex society the plans and procedures developed under this program may very largely determine the scope of effort which can be mounted by either our military arm or by civil agencies in time of national emergency. (c) Summary of effectiveness and need A true evaluation of the effectiveness of the emergency transportation program can only be made if and when it is put to the test under the emergency conditions for which it is designed. Tests and exercises, such as REX-I which is scheduled to be conducted during fiscal year 1968, provide, however, an interim means for analysis under simulated conditions of the completeness of planning, authorities, organizational structures and relationships and other factors. We are looking forward with interest to departmental and transportation agency participation in this OEP sponsored and directed readiness exercise which will be conducted in two phases, phase I during the fall of 1967 and phase II during the spring of 1968. Aspects of defense preparedness planning become tested and provide byproduct benefits in response to various nondefense emergencies that arise with some regularity each year. These involve various types of national disaster: floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc., as well as work stoppages (or threats thereof), wide spread civil disorders, and other incidents that cause or threaten to cause disruption to normal transportation services or which place exceptional demands upon particular modes or segments of the transportation system. (d) Progress Program elements on which significant progress has been made during this report period include: (1) Organization. The basic organization to develop and coordinate plans and procedures for the emergency management of transportation resources has been further refined and strengthened. The establishment of the Department of Transportation has given additional emphasis to planning in the resource area and has strengthened the role of the Office of Emergency Transportation as the focal point on the civil side of government in transportation preparedness. (2) State relationships.—First stage beginnings have been made on a "pilot project" to work with selected States to identify problem areas, improve procedures, clarify responsibilities, and in general to develop a clear working relationship, that will be effective under all conditions of emergency, among transportation agencies at all levels of government, the transportation industry, and claimants for transportation services. This "pilot project" is based upon provisions of the national plan, the respective State plans, and implementing plans and procedures of concerned agencies. It is ultimately intended that the project will lead to refinements in the transportation portion of preparedness planning at National, State, and local levels to bring about assurance of optimum coordinated transportation responsiveness to emergency needs. (3) Military coordination.-Close working relationships for civil transportation support of military and civil defense needs in an emergency have continued with the transportation elements of the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the respective military services, and the transportation single managers. The inclusion of the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard in the Department of Transportation has given the Secretary special responsibilities in the military area, since by provision of statute the Coast Guard is transferred to the Department of the Navy in a wartime emergency and the Federal Aviation Administration (or selected elements thereof) would be placed under Department of Defense control. To identify standards and to provide a focal point in the Office of the Secretary for his military-related responsibilities, a military support unit has been established within the Office of Emergency Transportation and a close working partnership is being developed to assure, (a) the military readiness of those elements that would be transferred, and (b) continuity of support by these elements for that portion of the civil transportation mission for which they have responsibility. A special activity in military coordination involved Office of Emergency Transportation_monitorship of preparation of a new textbook, "Transportation: The Nation's Lifelines," for the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. The book is being funded by the college. The text will replace the old volume written in 1961 and in use at ICAF since that date. (4) International coordination.-Activity has continued in the international field, especially in the coordination of emergency transportation planning with NATO and its wartime agencies and with Canada. It is anticipated that the Department's responsibility, interest, and activity will increase in this area in the period immediately ahead. (5) Resource management.—In the field of resource management the following items highlight activity for the year: (a) Preliminary (rough-cut) estimates of cargo requirements for and capabilities of the U.S. transportation industry under conditions of a general war were initiated. (b) Work was begun on an updating and detailing of an earlier cargo transportation study of requirements and capabilities under a limited war situation. (c) A "rough-cut" study of passenger requirements and capabilities under a condition of limited war was undertaken. (d) With the assistance of the Federal transportation agencies, estimates of control material requirements for the support of the transportation industry were prepared for both general and limited war. (e) A study of manpower requirements and availabilities under an assumed emergency condition was prepared in an attempt to identify "soft spots" in the transportation manpower area. (f) Allocations of air carrier aircraft to the CRAF and WASP were maintained in a current status. As of June 30, 1967, the capacity of the CRAF fleet was 378 aircraft, up from the 371 at the beginning of the fiscal year. |