Creation of the Single Army Logistics Enterprise (SALE) took a significant step forward with the award of two contracts earlier this year. Computer Science Corporation received a $199-million contract in February for the Product Lifecycle Management Plus (PLM+) program, one of the components of SALE. In April, Enterprise Integration, Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia, and IDS Scheer, Inc., of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, were awarded a follow-on, $40-million contract to provide management and monitoring support for the SALE project. Their original contract, for $20 million, was awarded in 2003.

SALE is designed to correct a major deficiency in Army logistics information management: lack of a common operating picture for measuring and analyzing materiel readiness and combat posture. Under SALE, the Army will integrate its national and tactical logistics systems into one fully integrated, end-to-end enterprise. SALE will bring together three component systems: the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army) Field Tactical (F/T), the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP), and GCSS-Army PLM+.

LMP is replacing the Commodity Command Standard System (CCSS) and the Standard Depot System (SDS). GCSS-Army F/T is replacing a variety of legacy tactical-level logistics information systems, such as the Standard Army Retail Supply System (SARSS), the Standard Army Maintenance System (SAMS), the Unit Level Logistics System (ULLS), and the Integrated Logistics Analysis Program (ILAP).

GCSS-Army PLM+ will link GCSS-Army F/T—the Army’s field-level logistics system—with LMP—the Army’s national-level logistics system. GCSS-Army PLM+ also will provide a single access point to SALE for external customers, such as the U.S. Transportation Command, the Defense Logistics Agency, and original equipment manufacturers.

The end state of SALE will be characterized by—

• A single enterprise built around already defined and universally accepted processes that instill confidence through accuracy, reliability, and connectivity.
• Logistics processes that fully interact with operational and financial processes.
• Systems that can significantly improve capabilities to build combat power and manage readiness.
• Performance-based partnerships with industry.
The Army projects partial implementation of PLM+ and SALE by fiscal year 2007.

REAL-TIME UPDATES AVAILABLE FOR FED LOG USERS

Beginning with the March 2005 release of FED LOG, users with access to the Internet can link from FED LOG to the Web-based version of the Federal Logistics Information System, WebFLIS, to get the latest item information on more than 7 million national stock numbers. This new capability provides a real-time link that allows users in the field to have confidence that the ordering decisions they make are based on current information.

Through either five compact discs or one DVD, FED LOG provides highly portable logistics information that contains items of supply and supplier data from the Federal Logistics Information System as well as unique data from other sources, including the military services and Defense Logistics Agency supply centers. FED LOG can operate as a standalone product, or it can be used to perform on-line queries via the Internet. As a standalone product, it is an invaluable tool for deployed units that do not have Internet availability. FED LOG disks continue to be delivered to more than 37,000 customers monthly.

FED LOG has many new features, including highlighting of environmentally preferred items and hazardous or radioactive items and providing conversions for U.S customary measurements to metric measurements and decimals to fractions.

Further information on FED LOG is available at www.dlis.dla.mil/Fedlog.

NEW TECHNOLOGY GIVES MAINTAINERS ACCESS TO EXPERTS

The new Joint Distance Support and Response (JDSR) advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) increases the efficiency of maintenance on vital equipment and decreases equipment downtime, benefiting soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines currently deployed and working in the field.

Using a Web-based network, JDSR provides maintenance personnel in the field access to a collaborative environment that includes information profiling, wireless connectivity, three-dimensional visualization, and other capabilities. It brings intermediate- or depot-level maintenance support to the organizational level. With the help of JDSR, a maintainer trained at the basic organizational level can receive assistance from depot support personnel or an engineer and, in some cases, from the original equipment manufacturer that produced the equipment.

“One key benefit of the system is it helps maintainers diagnose and ultimately fix difficult or unusual maintenance problems quicker than in the past,” said Elijah Brown, deputy operational manager for JDSR. “If a maintainer is out in the field and he has a problem, he can show an SME [subject-matter expert] the problem by putting a video camera on it and the SME can then use voice, chat, and streaming video to provide a diagnosis and solution to the problem.” Without the capabilities the JDSR provides, organizational-level maintainers could wait days or weeks for help to solve intermediate- or depot-level problems.

Brown said that the Navy, the lead service for the ACTD, will retrofit all of its ships with JDSR capabilities within the next 2 years. He expects all of the JDSR’s products to be fully transitioned and in the hands of warfighters in the 2008 or 2009 timeframe.


JFCOM’S LIMITED ACQUISITION AUTHORITY HELPS SPEED EQUIPMENT TO WARFIGHTERS

The U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) has a new tool to help get new capabilities to joint warfighters sooner. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 granted JFCOM limited acquisition authority (LAA), subject to delegation by the Secretary of Defense. In a subsequent memorandum, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged the authority and directed the armed services and Defense agencies to help JFCOM identify LAA requirements. The authority expires on 30 September 2006.

According to JFCOM officials, LAA is designed to accelerate the acquisition process so that new technologies will be available to frontline warfighters years sooner than with the normal process. So far, the command has used the authority to fund four projects and has more under consideration.

The authority is limited to $10 million for research and development and $50 million for procurement. LAA funds must be used for the development and acquisition of specific items, such as joint battle management command and control, communications, and intelligence, and other equipment that the JFCOM commander believes can facilitate the use of joint component forces in military operations and enhance the interoperability of their equipment. LAA cannot be used to acquire weapons.

One LAA project was the 2,000-pound Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System (JPADS) used to deliver supplies to forces in remote locations. JFCOM adapted it from an advanced concept technology demonstration for 10,000- to 20,000-pound loads. Delivering large loads to small units operating behind enemy lines was impractical because the units did not have sufficient manpower to handle them. Money was not available to develop the JPADS for small loads, so a combatant commander submitted a request to JFCOM to develop the system. Once the request was approved, it took a little more than a year to get the capability to the field. JFCOM officials estimate that, using normal procurement procedures, the smaller JPADS would not have reached warfighters until 2009.

 

AABC GRADUATES EARN TRANSFER CREDITS FOR ADVANCED DEGREES

Representatives of the Army Logistics Management College (ALMC) at Fort Lee, Virginia, and Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, signed an agreement in April to provide graduate degree opportunities to graduates of the Army Acquisition Basic Course (AABC). Graduates of the AABC, which is offered at ALMC’s Huntsville, Alabama, campus, will be eligible for automatic admission to Webster University. Students can transfer credits earned in the AABC to Webster and use them to meet requirements for master’s degrees in business administration, computer resources and information management, and procurement and acquisition management. The students will save $4,500 to $6,000 in tuition costs by transferring AABC credits to Webster.

The cooperative degree program will be offered at several Webster University campuses. Webster provides programs and services at 53 military installations and at professional military schools. More than 6,000 students, or 30 percent of Webster’s enrollment, attend classes on military installations.

Information about the cooperative degree program can be found at www.webster.edu/ftleonardwood/ Partnerships.htm. For more information on the AABC, refer to the ALMC Web site at www.almc.army.mil/hsv/index.asp.

CS AND CSS SOLDIERS MAY ATTEND RANGER SCHOOL

Soldiers in combat support (CS) and combat service support (CSS) branches of the Army may now attend Ranger School. In the past, attendance at Ranger School was limited to combat arms soldiers and those who were assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment or the Ranger Training Brigade.

The change came about as a part of Task Force Soldier, a focus area of the Army Campaign Plan. According to Colonel K.K. Chinn, Ranger Training Brigade Commander, Task Force Soldier was looking for ways to build warrior ethos throughout the Army and concluded that more Ranger-qualified leaders would help to accomplish that goal. “Ranger training is important because it teaches soldiers what they need to know about small-unit tactics and how to fight and win in the close-combat, direct-fire battle,” said Chinn. He believes that attending Ranger School “is the best life insurance policy you can get for you and your men.”

Soldiers attending Ranger School must endure a rigorous 61-day course that pushes them to their physical and mental limits. The course consists of three phases: The Fort Benning (Georgia) Phase, the Mountain Phase, also conducted in Georgia, and the Florida Phase, which is conducted at Eglin Air Force Base.

To apply for Ranger School, a soldier must submit a Department of the Army Form 4187 (Request for Personnel Action) and the results of his Airborne or Ranger physical through the first lieutenant colonel in his chain of command to the installation Director of Plans and Training Management or G–3. Attendance is limited to soldiers for whom the Army’s combat exclusion policy does not apply.

Technicians apply TankSkin to a fuel tanker at Army Field Support Brigade-Iraq. TankSkin, a product developed by VSE Corporation of Alexandria, Virginia, is a protective coating that is sprayed on vehicles and hardens into a surface tough enough to deflect bullets. It also can expand to plug bullet holes, protecting against fuel fires and spills. Armor plates installed below the fuel tanks protect pumps and hose connectors. Installation of TankSkin began in March, with the first six protected tankers issued to 1st Corps Support Command units in April.

FIRST MECHANICS COMPLETE NEW STRYKER MAINTENANCE COURSE

The first soldiers specifically trained to maintain the Army’s Stryker vehicles graduated from a new course at the Army Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on 22 March. The 15 graduates received a new additional skill identifier, R4, Interim Armored Vehicle Mechanic.

The course is designed to produce soldiers quali-fied to fill slots as Stryker maintainers in Stryker brigade combat teams (SBCTs). The students are military occupational specialty 63B10 (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic)-level advanced individual training graduates en route to an SBCT. In the future, this ASI will be available to select Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course and warrant officer technical training students.

The course, lasting 4 weeks and 2 days, will train 75 soldiers in 4 classes in fiscal year 2005. Up to 20 classes will be offered annually in succeeding years, graduating 120 mechanics in fiscal year 2006 and 240 mechanics each year, beginning in fiscal year 2007. The student-to-instructor and equipment ratios will be maintained at one instructor and one Stryker vehicle for every four students.

NEW VEHICLE AIDS IN IED DETECTION

A new, heavily armored vehicle in use in Iraq is giving Army engineers a closer look at suspected improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The 23-ton “Buffalo” helps confirm the presence of an IED before an explosive ordnance disposal team is brought to the scene. The Buffalo is equipped with a 30-foot robotic arm, or “iron claw,” that is operated from within the vehicle. When a possible IED is spotted by a route clearance team, the claw is used to probe debris and dirt around the questionable device in an effort to identify the object. A video camera in the claw transfers images to a television screen inside the vehicle.

The Buffalo’s crew of six sits 10 to 12 feet off the ground and has access to searchlights that are maneuvered from inside the vehicle. With the help of the lights, video camera, and claw, they can search anywhere they feel there is a threat.

The Buffalo saves lives when IEDs explode while being inspected. The Army National Guard’s 612th Engineer Battalion has identified 75 IEDs, 16 pieces of unexploded ordnance, and 16 fake devices (planted to study how the coalition forces respond) during its first 3 months in Iraq. Although the Buffalo has been hit several times by small arms fire, grenades, and artillery shells, no one riding inside has been hurt.

The 23-ton Buffalo is the newest piece of equipment Operation Iraqi Freedom soldiers have to identify improvised explosive devices.

UNITS RECOGNIZED AT FIRST COMBINED LOGISTICS EXCELLENCE AWARDS CEREMONY

The Army’s top-performing logistics units of the year were recognized at the first annual Chief of Staff of the Army Combined Logistics Excellence Awards Ceremony on 19 May. The awards presented included the Deployment Excellence Award, the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence, and the Army Supply Excellence Award. In previous years, separate ceremonies were held for each award. At the suggestion of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G–4, the three awards ceremonies have been combined. This year’s ceremony took place during the Association of the United States Army Logistics Symposium in Washington, D.C. General Richard A. Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and Lieutenant General C.V. Christianson, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G–4, presented the awards.

The Deployment Excellence Award recognizes units and installations for outstanding deployment accomplishments. Winners are—

Operational Deployment
Large Unit. 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, Camp Stanley, Korea.
Small Unit. F Company, 3d Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Active Army
Large Unit. 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York.
Small Unit. 96th Transportation Company, 180th Transportation Battalion, 64th Corps Support Group, 13th Corps Support Command, Fort Hood, Texas.
Supporting Unit. 842d Transportation Battalion, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Beaumont, Texas.
Army National Guard
Large Unit. 2d Battalion, 162d Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard.
Small Unit. G Troop, 82d Cavalry, Oregon Army National Guard.
Supporting Unit. Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
Army Reserve
Large Unit. 1179th Deployment Support Brigade, Fort Hamilton, New York.
Small Unit. 319th Transportation Detachment, 1176th Transportation Terminal Brigade, Dover, Delaware.
Supporting Unit. 4003d Garrison Support Unit, Norman, Oklahoma.
All Army
Installation. Fort Hood, Texas.

The Army Award for Maintenance Excellence winners are—

Active Army Table of Organization
and Equipment (TOE)
Small Unit. C Battery, 2d Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Medium Unit. 82d Military Police Company, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Large Unit. 3d Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Active Army Table of Distribution
and Allowances (TDA)
Small Unit. Equipment Concentration Site 66, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Medium Unit. 58th Transportation Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Large Unit. 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Army National Guard (TOE)
Small Unit. Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 690th Maintenance Battalion, Kinston, North Carolina.
Medium Unit. 3647th Maintenance Company, Blackstone, Virginia.
Army Reserve (TOE)
Small Unit. 812th Signal Company, Concord, California.
Medium Unit. 428th Transportation Company, Camp Cooke, Iraq.
Large Unit. 94th General Hospital, Seagoville, Texas.

The Army Supply Excellence Award winners are—

Active Army
Company, Battery, Troop, Detachment. 11th Signal Detachment, Mannheim, Germany.
Battalion, Squadron. 205th Military Intelligence Battalion, Camp Zama, Japan.
Small TDA Unit. University of Kansas Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program.
Large TDA Unit. Maintenance Activity Mannheim, Germany.
Property Book. 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, Yongsan, Seoul, Korea.
Small Supply Support Activity (SSA). 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii.
Large SSA. 172d Support Battalion, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Army National Guard
Company, Battery, Troop, Detachment. 43d Army Band, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Battalion, Squadron. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment, Duluth, Minnesota.
Small TDA Unit. 209th Regional Training Institute, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Large TDA Unit. Joint Forces Headquarters, Madison, Wisconsin.
Property Book. Headquarters 82d Troop Command, Clackamas, Oregon.
Small SSA. B Company, 193d Aviation Regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Large SSA. Camp Ripley Training Site, Camp Ripley, Minnesota.
Army Reserve
Company, Battery, Troop, Detachment. 329th Quartermaster Company, Riverside, California.
Battalion, Squadron. 94th General Hospital, Seagoville, Texas.
Small TDA Unit. 4th Brigade (Combat Service Support), Grand Prairie, Texas.
Large TDA Unit. Equipment Concentration Site 66, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Property Book. 320th Ordnance Battalion, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Large SSA. 245th Maintenance Company, St. Louis, Missouri.

TRANSCOM WINS SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARD

On 7 April, the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) received the Award for Excellence in Supply Chain Operations. Alan Estevez, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Supply Chain Integration, presented the award during the Supply Chain World North America Conference in Anaheim, California.

TRANSCOM was nominated for the award based on the success of its U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (CDDOC). The CDDOC, established in Kuwait under the tactical command of CENTCOM, was TRANSCOM’s first major initiative after its designation as the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Distribution Process Owner in September 2003. Reach back and connectivity with their respective commands enable CDDOC’s joint logistics experts to make quick decisions, ultimately providing better support to warfighters. The CDDOC serves as a benchmark for other DDOCs that have been established around the world.

The Award for Excellence in Supply Chain Operations is sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. It salutes world-class DOD organizations that have recognized the critical role that supply chain performance plays in reaching organizational goals, are committed to optimizing their supply chain performance, and have demonstrated this commitment by implementing supply chain improvement projects.


NATO CODIFICATION SYMPOSIUM SLATED

The 10th International Symposium on NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Codification will be held 10 to 13 October in Edinburgh, Scotland. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Codification: The DNA of Modern Logistics.”

The NATO Codification System (NCS) provides a common logistics language that makes it easier for allies to share equipment and materials. The symposium is held every few years to review current and future requirements for the NCS and advance NCS as the world’s standard language of Government supply chain logistics.

Based on the U.S. cataloging system, the NCS is used by more than 50 countries, and it is becoming a standard for e-commerce. NCS supporters seek to use the NCS as a common language between Government and industry in order to build synergy in the logistics chain from the factory to the foxhole.

Information on the symposium and on-line registration are available on the Internet at www.codification2005.org/en/home-g.asp.

ARMY GETS FIRST FUEL-CELL-POWERED MILITARY TRUCK

The world’s first fuel-cell-powered military truck, the GMT800, was turned over to the Army on 1 April at the General Motors Corporation research facility near Rochester, New York.

The GMT800 is actually a modified Chevrolet Silverado that has been equipped with two 94-kilowatt fuel-cell stacks. The fuel cells, which chemically convert hydrogen into electricity and water, generate 188 kilowatts of power and approximately the same torque generated by General Motors’ 5.3-liter V–8 engine. The truck is equipped with three 10,000-pounds-per-square-inch compressed hydrogen storage tanks that provide a driving range of 125 miles. The GMT800 accelerates much like the V–8-powered production truck but produces no tailpipe emissions.

The Army will evaluate the experimental truck at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, until July 2006. The truck will undergo rigorous testing in different climates and locations around the United States to assess performance and allow users to gain first-hand experience with the operation of a fuel-cell-powered vehicle.

SOLDIER CENTER LOOKING FOR GOOD IDEAS

The Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC) in Massachusetts is seeking creative equipment ideas from soldiers who have served in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

In January 2004, NSC’s Operational Forces Interface Group (OFIG) implemented the Soldier Innovation Initiative to capture equipment modifications made by soldiers in the field and to identify new equipment made by soldiers from materials available to them while deployed.

OFIG members visit installations to gather feedback, often targeting installations with units returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. A survey designed by OFIG psychologists prompts soldiers to submit their innovations, creative modifications, field solutions, and items newly created or improvised while deployed. Soldiers are asked not only to provide information on their ideas but also to provide digital or hard-copy photographs to enhance understanding of their ideas. Soldiers are also asked to provide contact information so that they can be reached for clarification. Project officers conduct a review to determine whether the ideas merit further study. Submitters are sometimes invited to the NSC to aid in the prototyping and evaluation process.

Some ideas that have emerged as a result of the Soldier Innovation Initiative are a map pocket sewn inside a patrol cap, a modified sling that allows the M4 carbine rifle to hang in a ready position, and a commercial earpiece for the handheld Soldier Intercom that permits better integration with the user’s helmet.

OFIG continues to solicit new ideas for assessment and possible development and fielding. To submit an idea, visit the group’s Web site,
http://nsc.natick.army.mil/ofig/index.htm, and click on “NSC Innovative Idea Survey.”