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TOP PRIORITY

Military Lodging’s “Enterprise” Future Awaits Outcome of
Centralization, Privatization Study

n response to a mandate in the fiscal pipes’ to a whole-of-DoD alignment.” progressed sufficiently for DoD to say,
I2017 National Defense Authorization Two of the business lines slated for “The military lodging initiative is under-
Act (NDAA), the Pentagon is studying a planned enterprise approach are mili- way already.” According to Sherwood, a
the possibility of consolidating, privatiz- tary resale and military lodging opera- “crossfunctional team was formed earlier
ing or completely divesting the military tions, both singled out as “early wins” this year and is in the planning phase.”
services’ official lodging operations. in terms of cost reduction and productiv- One step has already been taken
According to one source familiar with ity improvements, with expected “initial in the lodging area; though telephone
the topic and the analysis currently un- transition to enterprise management” by reservations are currently still handled
der way, it will probably boil down to the end of the second quarter of FY18 by individual lodging entities, online
centralization or privatization. — March 31, 2018. booking for service lodging facilities
The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and When it comes to leadership of the has been centralized for several years,
Air Force currently operate six lodging initial phases of exchange and lodging through the dodlodging.com website.
systems with more than 50,000 rooms, reform area, Christopher Sherwood, a The seven service lodging entities
generating more than $800 million in Department of Defense spokesman, said, covered by the Pentagon study and the
annual revenue. In addition, under the “These initiatives fall under the Com- organizations to which they report are
Privatized Army Lodging (PAL) program, munity Services reform area, the leader listed below, showing which entities
InterContinental Hotels Group oversees of which is to be named shortly.” are available for temporary duty stays
roughly 20,000 rooms on posts through- Asked about any steps the DCMO or- (TDY) and which for permanent changes
out the United States. The Coast Guard, ganization may already have taken regard- of station (PCS):

Navy Gateway Inns and Suites
(NGIS), Naval Base Ventura
County (NBVC), Port Hueneme

not included in the Pentagon study, runs ing enterprise management of military
its own lodging operation, with 599 lodging and military exchanges, the DoD • Army TDY and PCS, outside the
rooms generating $5 million a year. spokesman said, “The department is just U.S. (Army Lodges), Army In-
Section 901 of the 2017 NDAA di- beginning its journey toward enterprise stallation Management Com-
rected changes in the Defense Depart- management of community services and mand (IMCOM);
ment’s acquisition organization and will leverage its experiences in planning • Army TDY and PCS, within the
procedures and elevated the position and executing similar journeys.” U.S. (InterContinental Hotels
of deputy chief management officer He cited as examples “the consolida- Group), Privatized Army Lodg-
(DCMO) to chief management officer. tion of the military commissary systems ing (PAL), Assistant Secretary of
It required a report regarding how DoD into the Defense Commissary Agency the Army, Installations, Energy
would implement the changes. (DeCA) and Army’s community services & Environment (IE&E);
“While much work remains to be into the Installation Management Com- • Navy TDY (Navy Gateway Inns
done,” according to the Aug. 1 Pentagon mand (IMCOM) in the 1990s.” and Suites), Commander Navy
response, “this report explains how the Sherwood said the department is also Installations Command (CNIC);
DoD will reorganize to better pursue “drawing upon past studies and working • Navy PCS (Navy Lodge), Navy
the goals of technological superiority, group recommendations” as it consid- Exchange Service Command;
affordable systems, and well managed ers this area of reform, including those • Marine Corps TDY (USMC Tran-
business operations.” of the Military Compensation and Re- sient Housing), Marine Corps In-
An important part of the report’s tirement Modernization Commission stallations Command (MCICOM);
many strategies was “reforming” opera- (MCRMC), the Common Services Task • Marine Corps PCS (Inns of the
tions within DoD’s business lines — in Force (CSTF) and the Defense Resale Corps), Marine Corps Commu-
particular within the DCMO organization Business Optimization Board (DRBOB). nity Services (MCCS) - Category
— into systems with a department-wide The CSTF, a 2013 DoD initiative, had C MWR activity;
approach, by taking “explicit action” to “evaluated enterprise management of • Air Force TDY and PCS (Air
shift DoD business operations to “enter- morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) Force Inns), Air Force Installa-
prise services” from “the current military programs,” he said. tion and Mission Support Center
department and defense agency ‘stove- Some aspects of reform had already (AFIMSC).

4 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | OCTOBER 2017