If It Can Be Shipped, It Will Be Shipped; MCAS Iwakuni Unit Feature on the Distribution Management Office

Photo By Cpl. Calah Thompson | U.S. Marines assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Distribution Management Office take a group photo upon receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for noteworthy work during the annual Field Supply and Maintenance Analysis Office Inspection at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Aug. 19, 2022. The Distribution Management Office is a versatile unit whose goal is to provide high-quality, accurate, and professional entitlement counseling for the shipment and storage of personal property to all DoD-affiliated personnel within each office’s area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Calah Thompson)  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

07.13.2023

Story by Cpl. Calah Thompson 

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan – Flying high above the clouds, looking down on shimmering waters and small islands scattered around a larger land mass; passengers headed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni get their first glance of Japan.

Almost all Department of Defense personnel traveling to MCAS Iwakuni arrive through the Air Mobility Command terminal on base, where they are met by a team of Marines who run the place. This is the only Marine Corps operated AMC terminal in the world, managed by the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, MCAS Iwakuni’s Distribution Management Office (DMO).

DMO is a versatile division made up of four different sections, each with a specific role, task and specialization in support of their common mission: to provide high-quality, accurate, and professional entitlement counseling for the shipment and storage of personal property to all DoD-affiliated personnel.

In addition to personnel travel, as well as property transportation and storage, DMO supports operational needs by providing transportation for official travel business such as temporary duty travel trips and delivering fundamentally important equipment to different training locations. 

“Our job is mission essential; we can transport anything from missiles to classified materials,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jalen Harris, a freight transportation clerk assigned to the air station’s DMO freight operations section. “I think of it like this; if the Commandant wants something there, it's got to get there for a reason. And if that gear is not there it is going to stand in the way of mission accomplishment.”



The four sections that make up DMO are the passenger travel office, personal property office, freight operations office, and air terminal division. 

“We receive, distribute, and ship out, but it's a collaborative effort,” explained Gunnery Sgt. Anthony Torres, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the freight section.  “We cannot work without each other.”



The passenger travel office focuses on arranging and managing official travel for service members, DoD members, and their families. They also handle various types of travel, including Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and Temporary Additional Duty (TAD/TDY) travel. One of the passenger travel office’s key responsibilities is to coordinate travel arrangements in collaboration with AMC and Schedules Airlines Traffic Offices (SATO). They also offer services to provide travel buses in cases which the station’s motor transport division, the primary provider of buses, is unable to support. 

So, when PCS season rolls around and families begin to get their orders and must begin all the arrangements and travel plans, the passenger travel office helps arrange tickets to get them one step closer to their new home. And when the travel is arranged and it's time to start packing up to leave, the next section of DMO is ready to help once again.

The personal property office facilitates property shipments from start to finish and the completion of necessary documentation. They are responsible for the transportation of household goods and storage of any property staying stateside during the PCS. They also process claims and can provide additional information on unauthorized items for shipments, the personal rights and responsibilities of individuals moving, and basic tips for this time of transition.

And then finally, when moving day rolls around, the whole family -- pets and all -- can make their way to the terminal. The terminal is the commonly the first and last place residents will see during their time at MCAS Iwakuni and is run by the air terminal division.

The air terminal division (ATD) keeps the terminal running and ensures that the boarding and disembarkation process runs smoothly and efficiently. They take care of baggage, pets, customs and immigration, and direct communication with Air Force Air Mobility Command. 

Finally, freight operations provides services for the tenant commands and other DoD activities aboard MCAS Iwakuni and support for deployed units aboard the station or any other units deployed in the Western Pacific Area. 

Freight operations is broken down into three additional sections: shipping, receiving, and tracking and tracing. The shipping section oversees processing of outbound cargo, the receiving section processes all inbound cargo, and they both ensure the shipments are delivered to where they are needed. The tracking and tracing section provides updates on the status of the goods being transported. 

From welcoming service members and their families, to making sure they get their belongings safely, to helping them pack it all up again and go somewhere else and all the missions in between; DMO is an important section that is essential to ensuring the station runs smoothly.

“Everyone needs a little shipping or transportation authority no matter what base you go to,” says Harris. “And if we can, we will; if it can be shipped, we're going to ship it.”

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• Date Taken: 07.13.2023
• Date Posted: 07.12.2023 23:35
• Story ID: 449078
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP