The Defense Transportation System and delivery documents

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1. What the system is

A purchaser that does not want to arrange its own movement can buy into the American military distribution network. The manual defines it as "the portion of the worldwide transportation infrastructure that supports DoD transportation needs in peace and war" (SAMM C7.6.1).

It has two halves. One is military, meaning assets owned or operated by the Department. The other is commercial, meaning carriers under contract to it. Ports, airlift, sealift, rail, road, customs, in transit visibility and traffic management all sit inside the definition (SAMM C7.6.1).

Use of the system is an alternative to appointing a freight forwarder, not a supplement to it (SAMM C7.6.1). The two routes are set out in delivery term codes and freight forwarders.

2. How cargo actually moves

The manual names the methods, and each has a condition attached (SAMM C7.6.2):

• Scheduled military airlift. Regularly scheduled movement over validated routes. Unless the channel serves a location with little or no commercial option, "25 short tons is the minimum monthly volume required".
• Special assignment airlift. A dedicated pickup or delivery, billed by the hour from the moment the aircraft leaves its home station until it returns, and charged as a line item on the case. It is the route for cargo that is unusual in weight, size, urgency or sensitivity.
• Ocean liner service. Regularly scheduled sailings paid for piece by piece, with different rates for containerized and break bulk cargo, under two contracts administered by United States Transportation Command.
• Small parcel and military post. Commercial small parcel carriers or the military postal service. Movement by military post has two conditions: "First, use of an APO or FPO must be specifically authorized in an LOA", and the receiving post office must accept responsibility in writing.
• Express delivery. A government wide contract for express small package delivery, covering unclassified shipments "up to and including 300lbs" with door to door pickup and in transit visibility.
• Courier service. A secure courier network for classified and sensitive material, recommended primarily where the United States government retains title during transit.

Classification narrows the choice sharply. For transmission outside the United States, secret and confidential material may move only through cleared American contractors or Department entities under the named manuals, and "TOP SECRET material may only be transmitted by Defense Courier Service (DCS), Department of State Courier System, or the written authorization of the Government Contracting Authority" (SAMM C7.6.2.4).

3. Where the system stops

Two delivery term codes mark the end of the network's responsibility, and both are worth reading closely by anyone waiting at the other end.

Under one, shipments to a freight forwarder or to a country representative at an embassy in the United States "are DTS shipments until the consignee unloads the materiel from the carrier" (SAMM C7.6.2.7). Responsibility ends at the tailgate.

Under the other, shipments to a controlled port of embarkation "are DTS shipments until the materiel is loaded into a purchaser's ship or aircraft", and then "The purchaser is responsible for all onward movement and documentation" (SAMM C7.6.2.8).

4. The directory that decides where things go

Addresses are not taken from the case document. They come from a central directory holding the information required for shipment and for distribution of the related paperwork under sales and grant programs (SAMM C7.7.1).

It holds more than one address for each party (SAMM C7.7.2):

• ship to addresses for materiel;
• addresses for receipt of notices of availability;
• addresses for forwarding shipping documentation;
• addresses for supply and shipment status;
• mark for addresses naming the in country destination or ultimate consignee.

It is also open to more than one kind of user. Department activities, the General Services Administration, commercial firms, foreign governments and international organizations taking part in these programs all use it (SAMM C7.7.1). A stale entry in it misdirects both the cargo and the notice that the cargo is ready.

5. How the load is prepared and labeled

There is a floor on packaging. Shipments "are packed to not less than Military Level A/B as defined in Military Standard (MILSTD)-129", or to best commercial practice for the mode of shipment chosen, and the contractor packages the freight for the mode selected to its final destination (SAMM C7.8.1).

Marking is prescribed as a data set rather than a style. A military shipping label carries the case identifier, the transportation control number, the transportation priority, any project code, the consignor and consignee with addresses and telephone numbers, and the ultimate consignee or mark for address (SAMM C7.8.2). Every piece takes a label, and mixed boxes are marked as multipacks.

6. The documents that travel with the cargo

Which document appears depends on where the shipment starts. A release from a depot carries an issue release receipt document, which identifies the materiel as government supplied and gives the details tying it to a case. A release from a vendor under a Department contract carries a receiving report generated in the acceptance system instead (SAMM C7.6.3.1).

Those identifiers are what make a consignment traceable back to a case number months later, which is why a discrepancy is easier to pursue when the paperwork arrived with the freight.

7. When something arrives wrong

The report that opens a claim is filed by the American defense office at the embassy, not by the buyer. Security cooperation organizations submit a transportation discrepancy report for deliveries routed through the system, and the manual states the limit directly: "The purchaser cannot submit a TDR" (SAMM C7.21).

The report documents lost shipments and establishes an official record for a later claim against a carrier. The manual is realistic about what that recovers. "Limited liability prevents the purchaser from receiving full value from a carrier", though the official record may help with an insurance claim (SAMM C7.21).

Some claims never go through the government at all. "Claims against carriers or third-party billing shipments and FMS freight forwarder-contracted carriers must be filed by purchasers or their FMS freight forwarders directly with the carriers" (SAMM C7.21.1).

Tracing a missing consignment is also the buyer's move. Where shipment status shows pickup by an inland carrier but nothing has arrived, "the purchaser is responsible for initiating a tracer action", with shipping activities assisting by supplying proof of delivery or information from carriers (SAMM C7.21.3).

Key terms

DTS	Defense Transportation System, the military and contracted commercial distribution network. SAMM C7.6.1.
SAAM	Special assignment airlift mission, a dedicated flight billed by the hour. SAMM C7.6.2.
MAPAD	Military Assistance Program Address Directory, the source of every shipping and notice address. SAMM C7.7.1.
TCN	Transportation control number, one of the required data elements on a shipping label.
TDR	Transportation discrepancy report, DD Form 361, filed by the embassy defense office. SAMM C7.21.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

How Sentfore supports this

The distribution network ends at a port or a tailgate. Sentfore works after that point, moving equipment and people onward under protection, and providing accommodation, facilities and life support in difficult environments. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.