Every day, thousands of our fellow citizens are deployed serving in the National Guard or Reserves, playing a fundamental role that protects our freedoms, maintains peace, and provides relief services to communities in the United States and around the globe.

It’s a role that will grow as our standing front-line military continues to evolve. Thousands of businesses have been and will continue to be impacted as more reservists are called to duty. It’s a challenge for the employer, who is often faced with having to backfill or replace key employees. We will only see these challenges increase as our country continues to deploy more resources in the global battle against terrorism.

For the Guard and Reserve member, the sacrifice endured when called to duty is significant on many levels. These men and women leave their homes, families, jobs and careers, sometimes with as little as a week’s notice, when their unit is deployed. They put their personal lives on hold in the name of freedom and service to our country — for anywhere from 12 to 24 months. Many are called up for multiple tours of duty.

As if the stress of a combat zone is not enough, some Guard and Reserve members also suffer financial hardships due to their service. This happens when their military pay while on deployment is less than that which they were making in their private industry job. Worse yet, even though federal law mandates that an employer must provide re-employment at a similar level and pay to returning employees, some Guard and Reserve members come back, find their employers have abandoned them, and have to fight to get their job back — a travesty that was brought to light by the TV newsmagazine “60 Minutes.”

These are honorable men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom and safety. You may have noticed that people with military experience have certain intangible qualities like self-awareness, pride and a sense of purpose. The military instills these qualities in all of its ranks because it makes them good people. By embodying such core values as honor, courage and commitment, men and women build character and confidence, develop strong team skills, and learn to accept responsibility and accountability for personal actions. These are exactly the employee values and life experiences that create and sustain successful businesses.

Our citizen-soldiers should not come home from serving our country only to face yet another battle to get their job back. They deserve our respect and admiration, and our unqualified support. Nothing less is acceptable.

My company, Con-way Freight, recognizes this not only as a responsibility, but a duty.  At any one time we may have as many as 100 employees on active deployment. While on leave for deployment, the families of these service men and women continue to receive company medical benefits. In the case where the deployed-employee’s military pay is less than their Con-way pay, the company makes up the difference. Upon return, these employees have access to resources and counseling under the company’s health plan to help them deal with the stresses of their deployment and reintegrate into society.  And finally, the job they had when they went on deployment is there for them when they come home.

Our Guard and Reserve members and all active-duty military are heroes in every sense of the word; we should not take them for granted. Consider doing something to support our troops. For example, this past holiday season, Con-way employees in several cities participated in a “Santa Claus for Soldiers’ Families” effort, collecting gifts and presenting them to families of deployed Guard and Reserve soldiers who otherwise were not able to afford or manage Christmas on their own. In addition, several times a year, Con-way employees around the United States band together and collect donations of goods into care packages that are sent to the troops.

You can also participate in similar “support our troops” collection drives done by community service organizations. You can encourage your local schools to adopt a solider or a unit, sending supportive cards and letters.  And you can participate in national and local military support groups that reach out regularly to deployed-soldiers’ families and provide basic assistance.

These efforts make a huge difference to our men and women in the military. They are the front line of our freedom. Your kindness and support will be recognized deeply and broadly, confirming to them that their sacrifices and commitment to the defense of our liberties are not only recognized, but respected, honored and revered.

Lt. Col. David L. “Duke“ Ellington (ret.) is a 30-year military veteran who served as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army and the Indiana National Guard. He also served as executive director of the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Indiana Chapter, a national advocacy organization that facilitates collaboration between employers and all branches of the active military and reserves. He is currently a personnel supervisor for Con-way Freight’s Indianapolis service center and participates actively in the company’s recruiting, hiring, training and support programs for veterans.

A day does not go by in Washington without legislation intended to fix one problem ultimately affecting a host of other issues. It’s the principle of unintended consequences, and a fact of life in our complex world where everything has become so interconnected. Nowhere is this more evident than the transportation industry, which touches our economy, our environment and our infrastructure in virtually innumerable ways. It’s like the lyric from the popular children’s song that says “The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone ...” Trucking, it seems, is connected to everything.

One example of how one issue can have a ripple effect on many others is truck productivity. The crux of the issue is truck size and weight, a debate that’s been raging for years in Washington and throughout the transportation sector. Recent forecasts estimate that freight volumes will increase nearly 28 percent by 2018, a growth curve that — absent any change in current size and weight restrictions — will require several million more trucks on America’s highways to meet demand. “More jobs, now that’s great!” you might think … until you consider the interconnected, unintended consequences: more traffic congestion and lost productivity. Increased fuel consumption and higher carbon emissions. The effect of more trucks putting more miles on a highway infrastructure already strained to the breaking point. The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone ...

Many in the industry think the solution is clear: improve truck productivity. And there is a precedent — our counterparts in Europe, Canada and Australia have already done that and are reaping significant benefits. There’s plenty of research to support it. A 2008 American Transportation Research Institute study found that aligning our truck size and weight with the higher international standards would lead to great gains in productivity, as well as reductions in carbon emissions and a better shot at competing effectively in the global marketplace. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has produced a list of recommendations — including raising the allowable weight of six-axle vehicles to 97,000 pounds and permitting 33-foot trailer combinations in certain states, and expanding the use of triple trailers where it is safe and practical to do so. We hope Congress will seriously consider them. With the projected rise in freight volumes, maximizing the efficiency of our transportation infrastructure has never been more important.

One state that may prove to be a good test bed is Maine. The Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation Appropriations bill recently signed into law by President Obama includes a provision to create a one-year pilot project to study the effects of eliminating the 80,000-pound vehicle weight limit on Maine’s federal highways. Allowing heavier trucks for a year will give researchers a chance to assess the impact on the much-debated areas of safety, commerce and road wear and tear.

It will be interesting to see how this experiment will educate the debate and, ultimately, the policy decisions which result. If the experience of our international colleagues is any guide, the consequences of more productive trucks will bring measurable benefits — for highway safety, the economy, our environment, congestion, business efficiency, energy policy and many other issues. The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone ...

Eight years later after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, our approach to port security still seems to be guided by a strategy of Ready! Shoot! Aim!

Too many people still believe we can secure our nation’s borders – in particular, prevent an attack with a weapon of mass destruction – if we inspect 100% of all ocean containers that enter the U.S.

We’re asking the wrong question. 100% inspection is a flawed premise. It ignores common-sense logic, is short on risk analysis, would be a logistics and economic nightmare, and in the end, does not solve the problem.

In fact, not only will a strategy of 100% screening not improve our security, it will make us more vulnerable, because the money could have been spent on programs with a far better return on investment.

The modern-day terrorist is a thinking enemy who is patient, uses extensive surveillance and carefully selects the means and methods of attack.  This enemy is not concerned about port container inspection. Why?  Because many of the weapons they would choose to accomplish their mission -- chemical, biological, radiological or enhanced conventional explosives – are already here!

According to an EPA document which was removed from the Internet shortly after 9/11, there are at least 123 chemical facilities in the U.S. that could put a million people at risk if attacked, and more than 700 other industrial plants that could put at least 100,000 people at risk.

A study in the late 1990s conducted by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency revealed that the equipment required to build a sophisticated biological weapon could be purchased off the Internet for less than $50,000, and would fit inside a standard two-car garage.

Why bring radiological material into the U.S. to attack us? It's already here. The material required to build a "dirty bomb" is readily available at medical facilities, research institutes, universities and major construction sites. Trucks containing large quantities of cesium-137 drive between hospitals in Southern California every day with no security protection.

As for enhanced conventional weapons, future terrorists will have no more problem building them inside the U.S. than did Ramzi Yousef, who built the bomb that exploded under the World Trade Center in 1993.

In other words, a 100% success rate for "scan before sail" or similar inspection programs will simply not reduce the likelihood of chemical, biological, radiological or enhanced conventional attacks.

What about nukes?  The best strategy for preventing a nuclear device from entering the U.S. has little to do with examining containers by X-ray machines and radiological scanners -- despite the idea's appeal to some elected officials. The formula for success is what I call "70-20-10":

• 70% of money appropriated in the name of "securing America against nuclear terrorism" should be spent "upstream": thwarting efforts to obtain weapons-grade nuclear material. This includes increased funding for programs such as Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction, and ensuring that our intelligence community places as its highest priority locating and interdicting “stray” nuclear devices
• 20% of funding should be allocated to the pursuit and recovery of material and devices should weapons-grade materials fall into terrorists' hands. This should be a multinational effort led by the U.S.
• 10% should be spent on response and mitigation capabilities should a nuclear detonation occur.

Source: www.whitehouse.gov

Congressional leaders who are calling for 100% inspection are asking the wrong question: “How do we prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction through one of our ports?”  It’s the same question Congress posed over 60 years ago to Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb.” When asked in 1947 how the country could prevent the Soviets from sneaking a nuclear weapon into the U.S. through our seaports.  Dr. Oppenheimer responded, “Buy lots of screwdrivers. You will need to open every crate that enters America.”

Sixty years later, Congress still wants to "look" inside every container. Don't they understand, Dr. Oppenheimer was joking!

Colonel Randall J. Larsen, USAF (Ret) is the Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism and the author of, OUR OWN WORST ENEMY: Asking the Questions About Security for You, Your Family and America (Grand Central, 2007). He formerly served as the Chairman, Department of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College, where in 1999, he created the nation’s first graduate course in homeland security.

I was talking to a Con-way Freight driver the other day and we got on the subject of distracted drivers. It really lit him up. “It’s getting worse,” he told me, shaking his head in despair. “If it’s not someone distracted on a cell phone, it’s somebody else trying to read or send a text message. They take their eyes off the road and the next thing you know, they’re drifting into me!

It’s time that we ratchet up the volume on this problem and get people to pay attention. Kudos to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose Welcome to the Fast Lane blog last week saluted organizations taking steps to combat distracted driving and the threat this presents to the safety of America’s highways.

Con-way has nearly 18,000 employees who are literally working on the road every day. It’s like their office. They treat driving with all the attention and professionalism you would expect of someone who pilots a large commercial truck for a living, and has dozens of businesses reliant on that driver for the safe delivery of their goods. We share Secretary LaHood’s concern over this issue. Congress has held hearings on it and I recently testified before a House committee on this very subject, on behalf of the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Con-way and ATA believe that while driver distraction can take many forms, the most problematic is the use of hand-held electronic devices and the act of reading, writing or sending text messages while a vehicle is in motion. According to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study, text messaging makes the risk of a crash or near-crash 23 times higher (see www.vtti.vt.edu) than normal. That threat to safety is unacceptable. Both Con-way and ATA support the ALERT Drivers Act of 2009 (H.R. 3535), the proposed legislation that would ban texting while operating a vehicle. Con-way already prohibits its drivers from using any PDA device while operating company trucks.

With some other forms of in-cab technology, the issue of distraction becomes more complicated. In-cab communications and driver monitoring systems, used widely in particular by long-haul truckload carriers, are a prime example. While under some circumstances these devices could cause driver distraction — and many companies including Con-way Truckload have addressed this issue through specific policies and usage training — they also enhance drivers’ ability to do their jobs safely, effectively and efficiently. We join ATA in the belief that detailed analysis and public comment should take place if any restrictions on this type of technology are considered.

New policies and, as necessary, legislation, will help battle the problem of distracted driving with the motoring public. But it won’t make a difference or resolve the threat to highway safety unless the change in laws is matched by a shift in public perception, attitude and especially, behavior. If automobile drivers don’t see these distractions as a threat to safety, behaviors simply won’t change. And that’s unacceptable.

Come on, America. Put down your PDAs while driving. You will be safer, as will the hundreds of thousands of professional truck drivers who are sharing the road with you and providing the critical services that keep our supply chains and economy humming.

Here’s a great idea for a bumper sticker: Gotta text? Pull over!

I recently attended the Intellidrive USA Working Group meeting, which was held October 29^th - 30th in Detroit.  It was an opportunity for IntelliDrive partners and stakeholders to discuss future plans, as well as ways to increase stakeholder involvement.

IntelliDriveSM is a U.S. Department of Transportation initiative focused on advancing connectivity between vehicles and road infrastructure, the objective being to improve the safety and mobility of the U.S. transportation system. A demonstration “test bed” is under way outside of Detroit where 75 miles of roadway has been equipped with 52 Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) devices. The Test Bed can accommodate third party applications, a range of on-board equipment, as well as a variety of vehicle types.

This is potentially exciting technology that has enormous safety implications. The idea behind Intellidrive is to make vehicles smarter and more aware of their surroundings and road conditions, essentially by enabling vehicles to “talk” with each other as well as with sensors in the highway itself.

The program intends to create the platform, specifications, and ultimately, a wireless connectivity network embedded in critical infrastructure that would bind together multi-modal systems – autos, trucks, trailers, highways, traffic flow and control systems, tolling systems, etc. The benefits of such a connected infrastructure would be: improved traffic safety and mobility (better traffic flow and congestion management), improved highway utility, automated e-payment for tolls and user fees, fewer carbon emissions and reduced environment impact, and better roadway system management tools for both private industry and local, state and federal government.

Now in its early stages, much of IntelliDrive’s focus centers on answering basic questions. What will the system look like and how will it work?  Which stakeholders should be brought to the table? How should they be engaged?  How should the U.S. DOT undertake the user ROI assessments that must be made? How do we balance direct user benefits from less tangible “societal” benefits?  What is a realistic project deployment schedule? And finally, where will the development funds come from?

Let me offer a few recommendations:

Increase efforts to get varied stakeholders to the table…  Quickly!

In a room full of interested parties, I was the lone representative from commercial trucking.  The potential issues, experiences and perspectives offered by trucking -- including carriers, vendors and truck manufacturers, are too important to neglect.  IntelliDrive will advance the fastest if it is directed by the collective input of a consortium of parties – government, technology providers, road design and construction and fleet operators - each who will benefit from its progress.

Consider funding prior to the creation of detailed implementation plans

Funding sources – public and private -- should be identified as soon as possible.  This will help to define realistic constraints and will enable near-term implementation of the IntelliDrive services that have the fewest barriers and highest benefits.

Derive an overarching ROI

It is imperative that discrete and quantifiable user returns be identified early on to justify the large investment that IntelliDriveSM will require.  Each stakeholder should have a clear and compelling case for support.

And lastly, approach implementation in a phased manner by identifying “quick wins” that can be rapidly deployed, demonstrating and validating future benefits- think the Pareto rule 80 - 20.  We certainly need an overarching vision. But with the rapid advancements typical of technology and software as user experience is gained and capabilities evolve, smaller investments with direct ROI enable quick receipt of benefits . . . a measured and controlled “learn as we pay, improve as we learn” approach.

Source: www.fhwa.dot.gov

In this way, we can accelerate the promise of smart vehicles and smart highways to the benefit of everyone that shares our nation’s highways, bringing to reality those returns in safety, better mobility, less congestion and less impact on the environment sooner than later.