Posted on Aug 9, 2020
Where do we draw the line in which we should take action versus wait for the inaction of others when it comes to critical missions?
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ALCON:
As of this morning, a COL of a downtrace unit received a message from the ENT at a location in which he is scheduled to assist with 6 major head and neck cases. The ENT mentioned to the COL that he would have to reschedule the patients if he was not on a flight by 1300 as he would not have any other individuals to assist with the surgeries. The COL had a flight scheduled in DTS for yesterday; however, the Exception to Policy (ETP) for travel had not been approved -- meaning his DTS would not be approved. As such, the COL was still waiting on our higher to take action and approve the ETP as of 1030 this morning. Here is where I have concerns and take issue with the way this has been handled: The scheduled head and neck cases are predicated on the presence and successful arrival of this COL in a mission which I would personally deem critical. If I were the COL, I would have left yesterday during the scheduled flight and pushed for the DTS to be approved with the condition of adding the ETP later on the back end of the mission. The inaction of the higher echelon, as well as lack of sound judgement concerns me. Individuals occupying positions in which they are not qualified (whether S1, S3, or whomever the approval authority is in this case) or failure to understand the timeliness of their actions is also problematic. They had been approving ETPs for random travel requests that have not been this critical in nature. In this situation, they have been taking their time, which is of the essence. This COL's skillsets are needed to potentially save lives or improve the quality of life for the individuals in need of surgical care. Why is it so difficult to push a button and input the pin for a CAC signature that takes less than a minute? This is a no brainer, and yet the MDMP being utilized is not logical or even remotely close to being acceptable. We need to do better for our Soldiers and not keep them waiting last minute when it comes to these situations. Thoughts and opinions are welcomed.
Very Respectfully,
CPT Edward Krohn, MBA
As of this morning, a COL of a downtrace unit received a message from the ENT at a location in which he is scheduled to assist with 6 major head and neck cases. The ENT mentioned to the COL that he would have to reschedule the patients if he was not on a flight by 1300 as he would not have any other individuals to assist with the surgeries. The COL had a flight scheduled in DTS for yesterday; however, the Exception to Policy (ETP) for travel had not been approved -- meaning his DTS would not be approved. As such, the COL was still waiting on our higher to take action and approve the ETP as of 1030 this morning. Here is where I have concerns and take issue with the way this has been handled: The scheduled head and neck cases are predicated on the presence and successful arrival of this COL in a mission which I would personally deem critical. If I were the COL, I would have left yesterday during the scheduled flight and pushed for the DTS to be approved with the condition of adding the ETP later on the back end of the mission. The inaction of the higher echelon, as well as lack of sound judgement concerns me. Individuals occupying positions in which they are not qualified (whether S1, S3, or whomever the approval authority is in this case) or failure to understand the timeliness of their actions is also problematic. They had been approving ETPs for random travel requests that have not been this critical in nature. In this situation, they have been taking their time, which is of the essence. This COL's skillsets are needed to potentially save lives or improve the quality of life for the individuals in need of surgical care. Why is it so difficult to push a button and input the pin for a CAC signature that takes less than a minute? This is a no brainer, and yet the MDMP being utilized is not logical or even remotely close to being acceptable. We need to do better for our Soldiers and not keep them waiting last minute when it comes to these situations. Thoughts and opinions are welcomed.
Very Respectfully,
CPT Edward Krohn, MBA
Leadership
Medical
Defense Travel System (DTS)
Travel
Rank
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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I dont believe your tickets are officially purchased until it is authorized by the approving authority, so just leaving may not have worked.
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CPT (Join to see)
You are correct, CSM. The question then becomes why the DTS official didn't just push through the request and annotate in the remarks that the ETP is being processed and will be added in accordance with policy following the mission.
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As a former BN ODTA, I came across this similar issue that you're having. I was in a MI BN and we're sending people to different locations in support of different operations. I only needed to go through two people. What I did was I would talk to my BN commander and explained to him the situation and received a green light from the commander. I then talked to my BN AO and had him ready to sign the DTS authorization as soon as it came up. If the AO was not available to sign, I would get a verbal confirmation from the AO and call the ticketing office to go ahead and issue the ticket to the traveler. It cut down so many bureaucratic processes and increased a quick turn around.
Idk why the COL would have to wait on people. All he needs is to make one phone call to the brigade/battalion commander and things would magically happen.
Idk why the COL would have to wait on people. All he needs is to make one phone call to the brigade/battalion commander and things would magically happen.
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SGM Erik Marquez
Sort of accurate.
Unless of course you’re in a division or Cory headquarters and you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a COL they don’t rate really Highup on the hierarchy
That said our division chiefs which were kernels or lieutenant colonel’s when I was division G3 regardless of rank got immediate access to things like that as a DTS reviewer and at one point approver it’s very hard sometimes from the automated system to know the urgency of a request so it’s got to be followed up with a personal phone call otherwise it just sits in queue and the reviewer or approver will get to it when they get to it That said our division chiefs which were kernels or Lieutenant Carlos when I was division G3 regardless of rank got immediate access to things like that as a DTS reviewer and at one point approver it’s very hard sometimes from the automated system to know the urgency of a request so it’s got to be followed up with a personal phone call otherwise it just sits in queue and the reviewer or approver will get to it when they get to it
Unless of course you’re in a division or Cory headquarters and you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a COL they don’t rate really Highup on the hierarchy
That said our division chiefs which were kernels or lieutenant colonel’s when I was division G3 regardless of rank got immediate access to things like that as a DTS reviewer and at one point approver it’s very hard sometimes from the automated system to know the urgency of a request so it’s got to be followed up with a personal phone call otherwise it just sits in queue and the reviewer or approver will get to it when they get to it That said our division chiefs which were kernels or Lieutenant Carlos when I was division G3 regardless of rank got immediate access to things like that as a DTS reviewer and at one point approver it’s very hard sometimes from the automated system to know the urgency of a request so it’s got to be followed up with a personal phone call otherwise it just sits in queue and the reviewer or approver will get to it when they get to it
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CPT (Join to see)
MAJ Ken Landgren,
We are a Field Hospital, so it is essentially a BN minus is how I will describe it structurally. My FH has 5 downtraces and our "sister" FH has 5 downtraces. Each have an LTC Commander that oversees them; however, each FH has an HHD Commander. Above us, we have a Hospital Center, which acts as Command and Control Element. They report on behalf of the 2 FHs to the MED BDE, supposedly (not how it generally works due to poor communication at the Hospital Center). As a part of my FH downtraces, we have 1 Head and Neck Team, 1 Intensive Care Ward, and 2 Forward Surgical Teams.
Very Respectfully,
CPT Krohn
We are a Field Hospital, so it is essentially a BN minus is how I will describe it structurally. My FH has 5 downtraces and our "sister" FH has 5 downtraces. Each have an LTC Commander that oversees them; however, each FH has an HHD Commander. Above us, we have a Hospital Center, which acts as Command and Control Element. They report on behalf of the 2 FHs to the MED BDE, supposedly (not how it generally works due to poor communication at the Hospital Center). As a part of my FH downtraces, we have 1 Head and Neck Team, 1 Intensive Care Ward, and 2 Forward Surgical Teams.
Very Respectfully,
CPT Krohn
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MAJ Ken Landgren
As the approving authority what is your DTS hierarchy like under you. CPT (Join to see)
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CPT (Join to see)
MAJ Ken Landgren - I would have to look at the DTS roles to ascertain what the AO factor looks like at the other levels; however, the ARAs (the new name for Unit Administrators) tend to fill out / approve the DTS for their specific units.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
CPT (Join to see) - OK good. If you are able to get the updated DTS Smart Book then it does not appear to be too complicated of a process to utilize it. I essentially sent an email to everyone in my Theater Support Command to use the Smart Book first and attached the file, then we are available to for further assistance. I would run it by your boss first. You can skin the cat differently if you see fit. Like I said, the Smart Book reduced work load by 95% and the soldiers became competent at using DTS. Good luck!
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