The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell What’s not to love about logistics? February is the month of relationships, not just with other people, but with every aspect of our lives. As drivers we tend to only think about that last load and our next one. In reality, we are hoping to get paid for the last assignment and possibly do better on the next one. But what is logistics, and how does it all work? More importantly, what role do we play in it? Is it a person, a place, or is it only about time? Why is it important? Where does it start and who is responsible for it? Can we follow through the complete process, from inventory order to table order, or from staging to delivery? How do folks know how much to order or where it even comes from? These are all valuable and valid questions – the kind of things my mind constantly ponders. This year is off to a roaring start. January is already behind us and most of our readers are settled back into their routine activities. There is snow blowing here and outside activities have become a chore. Most of the United States is fully engulfed in winter. Even the southern most states are getting a taste of it. But, don’t get discouraged, because this is the season of heart-warming, gift giving, and sentiment sending. February 14 is Valentine’s Day, that time when romance is in the air, or so they say. According to Hallmark, everyone deserves a little love, or at the least a $5.00 message, printed on colorful paper with pictures, shipped in a matching envelope, and mailed from the heart... land. I had been thinking of a message or theme for this month, and I had not been able to land on a good subject, until I went through some photos of our recent family vacation. What got me to thinking along these lines was a comment from the post-Christmas and pre-New Year’s Eve special on “Studio 10-4 LIVE!” I don’t remember who made the remark, but it stuck in my mind as something to remember: “I need to make more time for family and better balance my work schedule.” I think that’s something all of us could use some work on. After more than five decades of trucking, I can guarantee I have missed more important dates with the family than I have made. And not just the usual holidays, but the other ones, as well. Anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, weddings, funerals, and the list goes on. That’s the life of a person on the move! But, LISTEN UP EVERYONE... this doesn’t have to be your story. Far too often we as drivers take on the responsibility for things far bigger than ourselves. We get handed the duty offixingsomeoneelse’sissue. Thereis an old refrain I often repeat that says, “Failure to act on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” In other words, you didn’t make this a problem, so how are you responsible for solving it? You’re not, but there will always be those who guilt you into doing theirwork. Youcanbetyourlastbuffalo head nickel that they (the responsible party) will not miss a chance to celebrate every holiday at home with their loved ones. In fact, if given the chance, they will party at your house while you are still working on their problem! If you allow yourself, you can not only drive yourself crazy, but also forfeit your happiness and lose those closest to you in the process. I can’t count the number of times I pushed a load through, at great discomfort to myself (sleep deprivation, fatigue, the pain of eye strain as I fought my way through a snowstorm), jeopardizing the safety of not only myself but the motoring public, as well, for that “all important load” that, when I finally arrived, just got sent to a holding yard or drop lot. Not cool. Now we are getting to the subject of this month’s message, which is all about logistics – what it is and how it works. Most of us don’t really love it, but we do love how it works, especially when all the stars align. There is very little in our lives that is not affected by some element of logistical support and control. Let’s look at that Valentine’s Day card and ask how it came to be. You wanted one, so you went to the store, and just like magic there it was, right? Not exactly. Chances are the card wasn’t produced on site, so where did it come from? I looked on the back of a card I recently received and, surprisingly, it was labeled MADE IN VIETNAM. Now that’s a whole lot of logistics. So, let’s see how far we can think back in the making of the message. 46 10-4 Magazine / February 2026 THE LOVE OF LOGISTICS
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