Mold Is Consuming Fort Stewart’s Barracks as a Pattern Emerges Across the Army

After a long mission in Europe, a soldier returned to his Fort Stewart barracks only to discover mold had completely consumed his room. The infestation wasn't only on the walls; his bags and bed turned black and green, encrusted in mold. Most of his belongings were ruined.

Broken air conditioners in the sweltering, humid Georgia heat; poor ventilation; and little to no barracks maintenance have created a decades-long breeding ground for mold, which soldiers repeatedly try to clean to no avail.

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IAM Joins Forces With Five Prominent Global Mobility Associations to lead the industry toward a sustainable future

IAM is excited to partner with five other mobility associations to launch a global effort aimed at ensuring the industry is playing its part on environmental sustainability. As part of the launch, the group signed a joint agreement that provides the Global Mobility industry with a roadmap and common actions towards achieving greater environmental sustainability.

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Save the Date for IAM’s Official Opening Reception Afterparty, Nov. 2

Kick off this year’s IAM Annual Meeting & Expo with the Official IAM Afterparty benefitting Move For Hunger, presented by Cornerstone Moving & Storage. The Afterparty, hosted by the U.S. Domestic Asset-Based Movers (U.S. DAB) group will be held in the Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s International Ballroom from 9:00 p.m.–midnight following the Opening Reception on November 2. All proceeds benefit IAM’s charity partner Move For Hunger in their mission to end hunger and food waste.

Buy your tickets and learn about the available sponsorships today at the Afterparty website!

IAM Annual Meeting Military and Federal Agency Participation

IAM’s Annual Meeting will once again feature robust DoD/Government participation this year.  Be sure to check out our agenda on our annual meeting webpage at (include link to agenda here).  We’ll have a JPPSO/Service panel this year.  A military spouse panel. A claims and risk management discussion. A USTRANSCOM staff panel.  A federal shipper panel. A lithium battery session based off the DoD’s soon to be published requirements. And a Dept of State TSP invite only session.  See below for a list of agencies participating:

• USTRANSCOM
• JPPSOs: SC, NW, MA
• Marine HQs
• MCOs: Army, AF, Navy, Coast Guard
• Dept of State
• GSA & GSA Audits
• MARAD
• And more…

Daniel Bradley Speaks at Southwest Movers Association Meeting

IAM's Daniel Bradley provided a military moving update today to the Southwest Movers Association (SMA) during their annual conference.  This year the conference is being held at Horseshoe Bay, Texas. Dan provided the attendees an update on the DoD’s Global Household Goods contract, planning that is happening now by the DoD on a future Non-Temp Storage Contract, an update on potential 2023 DP3 business rule changes and more.

Pictured with Dan is Dorothy Brooks.  After 60 years of serving the trucking and moving industries, Dorothy announced that she will be retiring effective Sept. 30.

 
Dorothy has spent 60 years in the field of trucking-related association work. She began working for the oilfield group and then transitioned to TXTA, then named the Texas Motor Transportation Association, before moving to SMA as the Director of Operations, where she has been the last 22 years.

Coming up at IAM Learning

A number of sessions are currently scheduled and more are being planned to help IAM members learn what they need and to make connections to help them do business better. Currently in the lineup and ready for your registration:

• Effective Communication in a Global Team - Sept. 28
• US Government & Military Affairs Update - Oct. 12

Here are some recent popular sessions you may have missed:

• Electronic Inventories: Drivers Weigh In On Upcoming Requirement
• What it's Like to Work for a Family-Owned Business
• You Provided a Service - Now Make Sure You Get Paid
• Diversifications - Professional Office Moving
• IAM CEO Forum

IAM September Mil-Gov Webcast

Following the Fall PPF, IAM held their monthly Mil-Gov webcast, and looked back at much of the content of the PPF. Once you review the slides, take some time to head to the webcast recording and listen to what IAM staff and TSPs had to say about what they heard.

Portal Magazine

In every issue of the Portal, we invite our authors to share their experiences, success stories, learning experiences, and vision with others in the moving and forwarding industry. In addition to our regular columns, feature articles for each issue are united by a central theme. 

USTRANSCOM Personal Property Forum (PPF)

USTRANSCOM held their Fall PPF on 13 (day session) and 14 (evening session) September. The attached slides were discussed by various TRANSCOM staffers and Service representatives.  Various Executive Working Group and previous PPF action items were discussed.  COL Gipson and BG Safranek explained their view of economic and capacity levers and when they would decide on whether those various levers might be implemented (if at all). The Storage team covered the Non-Temp Storage contract effort.  And then potential new 2023 business rules were reviewed.  Of note, a new best value scoring methodology was covered; potential lithium battery shipping policy; electronic inventory requirements; and the requirement to have an app enabled intransit visibility tracking device in each shipment.  There is a lot to unpack in these potential new requirements. Not to mention changes to the 2023 Claims Business Rules.

IAM Country Guides

IAM’s Country Guides provide customs information for more than 170 countries and territories around the world.

Lithium Battery Update

IAM is participating in a DoD/Government working group discussing the potential for a single, government-wide policy on shipping lithium batteries both separately and installed in equipment, as a part of a customer’s household goods.  This is one of the potential new business rules for 2023 that DoD, GSA and Dept of State have yet to finalize in terms of what policy they will enact on this topic.  From our participation, it’s starting to look like DoD and GSA may not be able to come to a common policy between them. As it stands right now (and no final decision has been made), it appears that DoD is leaning toward recommending to the USTRANSCOM Personal Property leadership, that the 2023 policy should lean toward requiring TSPs to move a customer’s lithium batteries if they are less than 100 Watt-hours (Wh); and it’s possible that lithium batteries could be excluded from any non-temp storage shipment. This is certainly a less-challenging requirement than the DoD’s original mandate sent out this summer, requiring movers to ship and store all lithium batteries, regardless of size/strength.

However, any requirement, even if it is at this lower level, will come with a need for crews who show up at the house to have an awareness of lithium battery sizes, how to determine the size; how to recognize lithium batteries; and how (and how many) to properly package for safe transport.  Stay tuned to found out what direction the federal agencies go with their final policy on lithium batteries. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear from DoD, GSA and DoS.  As a refresher, review our Lithium Battery webcast at IAM Learning.