UGPTI Launching Masters of Military Logistics Program

NDSU and UGPTI are launching a Masters of Military Logistics program, a first-of-its-kind program to provide training in military logistics and transportation to public, private and joint military and civilian personnel.

"With its history of transportation research and education, the UGPTI is uniquely qualified to develop this kind of program," notes program manager Brian Kalk. The program is targeted specifically at career military officers and Department of Defense civilians.

     

The MML program was a vision of the director of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute following Desert Storm. However, it was not until the involvement of the Adjutant General of the North Dakota National Guard, Major General Haugen following the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, that this vision was transformed into a reality. MG Haugen and the UGPTI staff worked closely with J-4 of the Army and the Comptroller of the Army (Lieutenant Generals Christianson and Sinn) to develop this joint effort between the Department of Defense, numerous colleges inside NDSU and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. The first class of 17 students in the intensive 36-credit program will begin this fall.

The program is offered in collaboration with the U.S. Army Logistical Management College in Fort Lee, VA. Students are selected by the Department of Defense and will develop advanced knowledge and research skills in the key areas of joint military logistics and transportation, advanced supply chain management, implementation of technology such as radio frequency identification tags, and the integration of homeland security and crisis analysis with military logistics.

Kalk notes that Pennsylvania State University and the University of Tennessee also provide military logistics programs. "But NDSU's is the only program that meets all 12 points of the national logistics curriculum outlined by the Army Logistical Management College."

Over the next two years UGPTI staff will continue to refine and develop the program while developing communications channels with other agencies whose personnel might benefit from the program. Eventually, enrollment is expected to reach at least 30 students.

UGPTI is working with NDSU's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering to explore the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in transportation. "That collaboration creates a unique opportunity for our students," Kalk says. "The experience they gain on RFID applications related to infrastructure, safety, security and operations will not be found anywhere else in the nation."

Kalk has more than 20 years of experience with the U.S. Marine Corps including experience in transportation and logistics in Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. An academic coordinator has also been hired for the program. Jody Bohn has more than 21 years of experience in the U.S. Army in financial and human resources management and is also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The director of the program will be Denver Tolliver, associate director of the UGPTI. He will guide the interdisciplinary team of faculty with academic and research expertise ranging from business and economics to civil engineering.

For more information, see www.ugpti.org/mml/