ARMY PUBLISHES 2007 POSTURE STATEMENT

After 5 years of the Global War on Terrorism, the environment in which Soldiers work remains dangerous, and the stress that they and their Families endure is increasing. That was the message of the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army in the 2007 Army Posture Statement. The statement, which is the annual summary of the Army’s missions, accomplishments, and plans, was presented to the Congress in February.

According to the Army’s leaders, funding and resources must increase to build the force, sustain the war effort, and provide for Soldiers and their Families. To reach these goals, the Army will focus on four overarching, interrelated strategies—

The Army’s logistics focus will be on enhancing equipment readiness, improving logistics automation, and completing transformation. The past 5 years of combat operations have worn down Army equipment, so Congress has provided funding to continue restoration projects that are already underway through the Army Force Generation reset process. These measures are expected to aid in rebuilding unit capability. To improve accountability, the Army is implementing the Logistics Automation Governance Plan, which will improve the fielding of modern logistics automation and will retire legacy systems. These efforts have reduced the number of logistics automation systems from 850 to 320.

The Army has accelerated its rapid but deliberate transformation of logistics. Since 2004, the Army has redesigned and activated new logistics units, including three of four new theater sustainment commands, five expeditionary sustainment commands (ESCs), and 11 sustainment brigades.  The 316th ESC, an Army Reserve unit, will be the first ESC to deploy and provide command and control.

For more information on the 2007 Army Posture Statement, see www.army.mil/aps.

JKO PORTAL OFFERS JOINT ONLINE TRAINING

To prepare servicemembers for joint and multinational operations, the Department of Defense has unveiled a new enterprise portal system called Joint Knowledge Online (JKO). The new system delivers online classes and learning tools, including joint task force handbooks, interactive courseware, training videos, and links to other online information. These resources are available not only to U.S. servicemembers but also to those who will be working with them in joint and multinational operations, such as personnel from government agencies, foreign militaries, and nongovernmental organizations.

JKO is aimed at reducing the amount of time service men and women spend away from their families and units while being trained for their joint missions. With JKO, Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen can take basic portions of courses online before arriving at resident courses. The service-operated portals—Army Knowledge Online, MarineNet, Navy Knowledge Online, and Air Force Portal—will still provide service-specific training.

ARMY FINANCE SCHOOL RENAMED

The Army Finance School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina was officially redesignated as the Army Financial Management School on 26 January 2007. The Finance School was originally established on 1 September 1920. The name change was one of the first steps of a transformation that will combine the Finance branch (code 45) and Comptroller functional area (FA 45) career tracks into the Financial Management branch (code 36). The goal of the transformation is to create multifunctional Financial Management officers that can support the Modular Force. All financial management units will finish their conversions by fiscal year 2010.

DOD AWARDS DEFENSE LOGISTICS CONTRACTS

In response to a Base Realignment and Closure recommendation to privatize certain functions at Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR), the Department of Defense has awarded contracts that will terminate the wholesale supply, storage, and distribution of packaged lubricants, petroleum, chemicals, and compressed gasses at DSCR. A contract worth up to $6.25 million was awarded to San Diego-based Science Applications International Corporation to handle the procurement, storage, and transportation of petroleum, oils, lubricants, and chemicals. Privatization will allow the contractor to deliver supplies directly from its stock to the warfighter. Haas Total Chemical Management of West Chester, Pennsylvania, received a $2 million contract to buy, store, fill, and transport compressed gasses and cylinders for DSCR customers. DSCR will retain the contracting function for the commodities.

CAMP ARIFJAN STUDY CHANGES SAFETY RULES FOR AMMUNITION STORAGE SITESS

A review of plans for storing ammunition at the Theater Storage Area at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, has led to a significant change in the rules for constructing safety barricades at ammunition storage sites. The review, initiated by the Army Defense Ammunition Center (DAC) at McAlester, Oklahoma, reevaluated Department of Defense (DOD) and Army explosives safety regulations that required the height of a barricade to be 2 degrees above stacks of ammunition when drawn from the rear of the stacks. Applying this rule to the 25 720-foot-long ammunition storage pads at Camp Arifjan meant that 36-foot-tall barricades would have been required. Employees at DAC’s Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety questioned the need for 36-foot-high barricades to protect adjacent ammunition storage sites that were 477 feet apart.

A series of trajectory analyses using DOD-approved explosion software models showed that barricades with a height extending 1 foot above the line of sight between two ammunition stacks will protect adjacent ammunition storage sites from the spread, or propagation, of detonations at one stack. As a result, the armed services and the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board have voted to adopt a requirement that barricade heights be 1 foot above the line of sight between ammunition stacks (1 foot above the height of the stacks).

A barricaded ammunition storage pad at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Because of this change, an estimated $67 million will be saved over the next 3 years through reductions in the height and footprint of barricades and the amount of dirt required for barricade construction.

IMPROVED BODY ARMOR FIELDED

The Army will field the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) to Soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq soon. Improvements made in the design of the vest, which are based on Soldier input, reflect the Program Executive Office Soldier goal to provide Soldiers with the most advanced and comfortable protection gear available.

The IOTV has the same ballistic protection and uses the same armor plates as the OTV that Soldiers have been using. Improvements in the vest include—

The Improved Outer Tactical Vest worn by the Soldier in this photo is being fielded to Soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Photo courtesy of Program Executive Office Soldier)

NEW ARMY OPSEC REGULATION RELEASED

A revised Army Regulation 530–1, Operations Security (OPSEC), updates policies and procedures for maintaining OPSEC in the Army. The goal of the changes is to foster a total Army approach to OPSEC.

Unlike traditional security, the purpose of OPSEC is to avoid providing the enemy with sensitive information through unclassified and open-source observations of friendly activity, such as personal blogs on the Internet or photos sent to family and friends. Such information may be pieced together to provide the enemy valuable intelligence.

Key changes to the regulation include—

TRANSCOM RECEIVES SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Supply Chain Council, an international not-for-profit industry association, presented the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) the Global Award for Supply Chain Excellence and the Award for Supply Chain Operational Excellence in March. These awards spotlight world-class organizations that have recognized the critical role supply chain performance plays in reaching organizational goals and their commitment to optimizing supply chain performance.

The awards were presented to TRANSCOM for its commitment to design, development, and decisionmaking support associated with the joint deployment and distribution architecture. This was exhibited by the TRANSCOM Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems (J–6) Architecture Division redesign of the command’s operational architecture to provide better understanding of operational processes and highlight the relationships among various organizations involved in the broader supply chain.

“Our focus is on improving the efficiency and interoperability of the Defense’s distribution activities associated with deploying, sustaining, and redeploying our forces and equipment during peace and war,” said TRANSCOM Commander General Norton A. Schwartz. “The application of the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model has definitely helped us effect change toward improving our warfighting capabilities.”

Employees at the Logistics Movement Coordination Center (LMCC) operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, request permission for, register, and monitor convoy movements throughout the battlespace in Iraq. The LMCC, located in Baghdad, coordinates the movement of materials needed for reconstruction throughout Iraq with the military units that control the territory through which the convoys will move. The LMCC operates on an unusual business model—a team primarily run by contractors in a military environment that eventually will turn over its operations to the Iraqi government. The LMCC helps coalition forces maintain a better view of their operating environment and support their logistics needs while the contractors working at the LMCC receive a safer workspace, which dramatically reduces their insurance premiums. In the past 2_ years, the LMCC has guided more than 11,300 convoys. (Photo courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division)

ARMY IMPROVES UNIFORM FIRE RESISTANCE

Program Executive Office Soldier is working to provide Soldiers in theater with uniforms that protect them better from the fire threats posed by improvised explosive devices. These initiatives include NOMEX uniforms for Soldiers in convoy operations, flame-resistant coveralls for Soldiers operating combat vehicles, a fire-resistant combat shirt to be worn under the interceptor body armor, and a fire-resistant Army combat uniform (ACU).

The new flame-resistant combat shirt is designed to be worn under the interceptor body armor.

Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan began receiving NOMEX uniforms in January in response to an operational needs requirement submitted in September 2006. NOMEX, a fiber produced by DuPont Company, has proven effective in saving lives. It significantly reduces the risk of second- and third-degree burns to Soldiers who are exposed to a flash fire such as burning fuel.

An improved, fire-resistant, one-piece uniform has been developed for Soldiers riding in combat vehicles. Also made with NOMEX, the new coverall has an elastic back waist and adjustment tabs to customize fit, decrease bulk, and increase maneuverability for armored vehicle crews. The fielding date for the coverall is yet to be determined.

The fire-resistant combat shirt will be fielded late this summer. Made to wear under body armor, the shirt has fire-resistant camouflage material on the sleeves, shoulders, and in a panel under the arms. The front and back are made of body-fitting, moisture-wicking, knit fabric. Worn with flame-resistant ACU pants, the shirt provides the Soldier with head-to-toe protection against burns. Fielding for the flame-resistant ACUs begins in July.

Contributors to the Design of the Logistics Branch Insignia

The individuals list below participated in the design of the Logistics branch insignia. The final design, seen in Introducing the Logistics Branch and the cover, incorporates many similar elements found in the design suggestions that were submitted to the Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM). (See the article on the design solicitation in the September-October 2006 issue of Army Logistician for more information on the insignia design process.) The final design therefore is the product of a group effort. All participants received a thank-you note from Major General Mitchell H. Stevenson, the Commanding General of CASCOM. Costella Alford was the primary design technician for the insignia at the Army’s Institute of Heraldry at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Major Sean F. Ahrens
Colonel Mark W. Akin
Major Mo Alsing
Captain Luis M. Alvarez
Mr. Daniel Amburg
Dr. William F. Atwater
Captain George Autry
Captain Johnny Bakane
Mr. Al Barnes
Mr. Steven Baroski
Mrs. Janice Denise Blake
Chief Warrant Officer (W–4) James Boroch
Chief Warrant Officer (W–4) Rebecca Brashears
Second Lieutenant Tamara Brewer
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Burns
Lieutenant Colonel Ralph N. Butera, USA (Ret.)
Captain Frank M. Campana
Major Rebecca Capps
Major Michael Cathey
First Lieutenant Lara Chapman
Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Chroman
Major John Paul H. Cook
Major Brad Culligan
Lieutenant Colonel O. Shawn Cupp, USA (Ret.)
First Lieutenant Mark B. Dudley
Major Christopher L. Dykes
Captain Brian Easley
Captain Russ Edmiston
Major Steve Fabiano
Captain Jana Fajardo
First Sergeant Gerardo Flores
Captain Beth R. Frazee
Mr. Keith K. Fukumitsu
Captain Shane Gainan
Captain David L. Godfrey, Jr.
Major Nathan Goubeaux
Major Daniel Graves
Lieutenant Colonel Dan Gregory
Major Mark A Gregory
Mr. Ronald Gross
Lieutenant Colonel John M. Guarnieri
Mr. Timothy L. Hale
Mr. David Hanselman
Mr. David R. Heallen
Major Doug Henry
Lieutenant Colonel William Hogan
Major Nathan Hunsinger
Major Matthew Isaacson
Captain Frederick C. Jackson
Ms. Carolyn Jolly
Mr. Brent Kadesch
Captain Jason Kahne
Mr. Richard E. Killblane
Major Peter J. Kim
Major Kurt Klefisch
First Lieutenant Damien Krantz
Captain John Kredo
Major John Kuenzli
Captain Joshua LaMotte
Major Richard Lazik
Major Merritt Lincoln
Major Donald MacCuish
Colonel Michael T. McBride
Major Rita McClellan
Captain Jonathan McDougal
Lieutenant Colonel Sean McGovern
Sergeant First Class Derrick Madison
Major Jason Mead
Captain Laura C. Miller
Major Johnny Moritz
First Lieutenant Jason Morrow
Major David Motes
Captain Patrick B. Muzzy
Major Christopher Noe
Mr. David M. Oaks
Colonel Mark A. Olinger
Major Gerard J. Overbey
Dr. Christopher Paparone
Colonel Steven Pate
Captain David A. Payne
Captain Kevin M. Polosky
Lieutenant Colonel Carey Radican
Mr. Peter J. Ramirez
Major Robert W. Ramspeck
Major Matthew Reed
Mr. John Reith
Mr. Kevin Rhodes
Colonel Drexel Ross
Command Sergeant Major Gregory Seals
Captain James A. Shavers
Lieutenant Colonel Steven W. Shea
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur J. Smalley
Major Morgan Smiley
Major Michael Solovey
First Lieutenant Justin Strom
Mr. Ray Strunk
Major Glen Sutton
Mr. George E. Thayer
Captain Jerry D. VanVactor
Lieutenant Colonel Joel D. Weeks
Major Cris Whittaker
Staff Sergeant Michael Winkler
Mr. Danny Winstead
Colonel Steve Woods
Major Mark Young