New Transcom commander embraces digital tools amid global challenges

Early into his tenure as head of U.S. Transportation Command, Air Force Gen. Randall Reed is keen to expand the hub’s application of data analytics and artificial intelligence, including via the Maven Smart System, to inform decision-making and enhance operational efficiency, he told DefenseScoop.

Reed — a command pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours — held a variety of joint, headquarters, and base-level roles, and steered a numbered air force, wing, expeditionary operations groups, and a flying training squadron before he assumed leadership at Transcom late last year. 

He’s in charge at a time when the command’s assets, workforce and close commercial partners are in high demand to move Defense Department equipment and personnel by rail, road and waterway in support of a broadening range of contemporary missions. 

On any given day, Transcom has more than 400 airlift sorties inflight, roughly 200 railcars and 1,500 freight shipments en route, 15 or more ships underway, and an estimated 10 patients in air evacuation, according to its most recent statistics.

“I frequently get the question, ‘how is Randall Reed doing, and how does he feel about Transcom?’ And I tell them that as a warfighting commander, I cannot imagine commanding anything else, anywhere else, or serving with anybody else. And one of the things that makes this such an incredible opportunity is the nation needs us — and we’ve always been there,” the commander told DefenseScoop in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the recent Sea-Air-Space summit.

During the discussion, Reed shed light on his near-term technology priorities and some of the command’s most recent high-stakes operations, including those in support of the Trump administration’s mass deportation missions.

Better connectivity

The Maven Smart System is one of several AI-enable software options in Transcom’s technology arsenal that improves the commander’s decision-making on a daily basis. MSS processes imagery and video from drones, sensors and other sources and applies advanced algorithms to inform real-world battlefield and logistics operations.

“I see it as a tool. Maven is not the end-all, be-all,” Reed noted. “But it’s helping us do what we do, better.” 

He detailed how the Transcom team and some of its partners sought to “stretch” the system’s use during the Turbo Challenge exercise in recent weeks.

“In the course of the exercise, we worked really hard to see, one, how good we are at doing our job to support theater commanders, and in this case, the Pacific. And then as we start laying in the system, specifically Maven, how are we using it now? Is it truly satisfactory? And how can we stretch that? And then where can we inject it to everything that we do to go forward? And let’s assess that. What I can share with you is that Maven will continue. Everyone’s very excited about what we discovered, but the biggest piece is not the system itself, it’s that we’re actually changing behavior, and that’s the most powerful,” Reed said.

Each combatant command accesses their own custom interfaces in the platform.

“What it actually allows us to do is use authoritative source data. At the moment, I really don’t care if it’s 100 percent correct. But it is the source data that the subject matter experts actually use and they already trust, and so as they bring their source data to the front, they’re actually allowing the rest of us to become literate in their area but use our own experiences to think critically about that and make the connections,” Reed said.

As this continues, he said meeting times are being reduced because participants are clued in from the jumpstart and can share common operating pictures.

“The other thing too is with such a powerful way to level the understanding, we’ve actually changed the meeting schedules. And we actually have added layers to it, and now all the commanders are meeting every day, using Maven as part of the meeting to very quickly level the understanding, get onboard together in terms of how we’re going to start the day, and then we start the day,” Reed told DefenseScoop.

Regarding his big picture aims while commanding Transcom, the general said he hopes his legacy will be as “one of those energetic folks” who pushed connectivity forward — on both a technical and practical level.

“For the good of the crews, I need all of them in every conveyance we work with to be connected. I need the connectivity to be secure. I need it to be reliable, and in most cases, near instantaneous. And the more connected we are, the more folks that are going to be aware of the battlespace, and they’ll be able to make the local decisions they need to make to survive and actually get the job done,” Reed said.

The ‘unforeseen’

Shortly after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January mandating the U.S. military to take on a direct role in securing the southern border, the Pentagon announced plans to send 1,500 active-duty service members and additional air and intelligence assets to support the effort.

Early on, Transcom was named as a key member of the U.S. Northern Command-led task force launched by DOD to oversee the quick implementation of Trump’s border-related directions, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security.

In Reed’s view, the interagency immigration and border security missions have improved connectivity and interoperability between DHS and DOD over the last few months.

“[That’s] been my experience whenever the interagency gets together to respond to something, if we’ve worked together on something before, we kind of pick up where we left off,” he said, adding that “in this case, for the most part, it’s the first time for folks to work together” on this particular issue.

Reports have indicated that the command supported deportation flights expelling migrants that the Trump administration deemed to be “high threat.”

“Northcom is actually the lead combatant command for this portion of the mission. And then if anything goes to [U.S. Southern Command], then Southcom is in charge of that piece. So we support them both. And so, we are working with them to plan for things that they know are coming up that they need to do. We support them in that. Otherwise they, for the most part, give us a tasking to fill, and we fill the tasking. So doctrinally, it’s fairly standard,” Reed said.

When asked if the border-related missions have been disruptive to the command’s capacity to carry out its many other responsibilities and deliveries — particularly as certain shipping routes in other parts of the world have become increasingly contested — he told DefenseScoop that his team uses data analytics and other capabilities to monitor its posture and “forecast” its resourcing and financial needs.

“Built into that forecast is an understanding that we always come into contact with reality and something will happen somewhere that we didn’t plan on. And historically, there seems to be a certain amount of that that drives a certain amount of use for the platforms and crews. And so we kind of build something in for that unforeseen. And right now, this just happens to fit into that unforeseen [realm]. But it’s not so big that it’s really consuming all of the unforeseen,” Reed explained.

In recent years, Transcom has played a major role in the delivery of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. And over the last few months, the command has also maneuvered forces and cargo for multiple exercises in the Pacific region and provided sustainment for Department of State missions to multiple countries. Transcom also recently started another critical mission that involves moving service members and their families via a new program called the Global Household Goods Contract.

Reed emphasized that the command’s personnel and their deep partnerships with commercial suppliers underpin the organization’s ability to execute so much.

“They all know what they’re doing, and they’re incredibly good at what they do — and none of us are as smart as all of us, none of us are as strong as all of us. And when we come together, magic happens, and in the end, it does make a difference,” he said.

At the same time, his leadership team is also eager to explore more applications of emerging technologies — like autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicles and maritime drones — to innovate how Transcom moves and delivers cargo.

“We know that someone now can potentially take a drone, and you could place an order for groceries and they can deliver your lettuce,” he noted. “But that range right now is not very far for some of what the rest of the [U.S. military’s] joint force is looking for.”

Reed pointed to the Indo-Pacific region, where commanders need drones that have the capacity and endurance to go from one island chain to another and operate in contested areas where communications could be limited.

“You look at all of these things to see where it’s at. But what I will tell you is eventually we’re going to get there, and eventually we’ll have things that can go hundreds and thousands of miles and can carry hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of [payloads]. And when that technology gets there, Transcom will be waiting to catch it,” Reed said.

Under an existing cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with National Aerospace Research and Technology Park and the Atlantic County Economic Alliance, the command is currently testing the feasibility of using drones for light, short logistics operations.

“We’re into delivering. Period. So when that technology gets there, we’ll embrace it,” Reed said.