One of the largest problems faced by the United States Army
is the ability to track equipment in Afghanistan. Historically there have been
many issues with equipment getting lost or left behind in theater, packing a
huge punch to the budget of units who can no longer simply “write it off.”
Cubic, a leading technology and specialized services company currently services
over 60 nations and now, the U.S Army will now be one of their largest
customers.
An
order of approximately $4.8 million was placed by the Army to expand the
wireless Mesh Asset Tags (MATs) to two bases in Afghanistan near Kandahar and
Bagram. These MATs will first be delivered to the Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA) and the Army Sustainment Command before reaching Afghanistan. The
success of the MATs has been seen at three bases near Kuwait where they have
been used as GPS trackers attached to vehicles for yard management purposes.
The MATs are small battery operated mesh tags with built-in GPS receivers. The
implementation of this technology does not sound very new and innovative, but
it is the partnership with Cubic that is what makes this implementation so
significant.
Having Cubic on-board the project is
significant because the company provides their own asset visibility system
which enables logistics personnel to determine the location of any military
vehicle equipped with the system from one database. Logisticians will now have
the upper hand in tracking equipment from any computer where they can access
the Cubic database, rather than relying on records that may or may not exist.
While individual units will still be responsible for their equipment, the
capability that the database will provide now allows for more advanced
oversight and accountability processes that will surely be imperative as the
Army strives to save every dollar it can and prevent our technology from
falling into the hands of the enemy.
The
importance of this technology will be seen especially as the draw-down in
Afghanistan occurs. Being able to account for all of our vehicles and other
MATs enabled equipment before getting it back home will be a critical mission
especially with the current/impending threat of sequestration. MATs will not
only help the Army make sure all of its equipment is packed up and ready to
come home, but it will also allow logisticians to track the equipment on its
way en route to the states, enabling units to better plan for the availability of
their equipment based on which phase of the ARFORGEN cycle the equipment may be
headed for. Implementation of MATs will help to save money and prepare the Army
for any future deployments that may be faced. Knowing exactly how much
equipment was brought back from Afghanistan will allow military planners to
accurately budget and plan for how much new equipment will need to be acquired.
The problem with this system is that it allows our enemies to track us. The system which tracks our stuff is not very secure and is probably already hacked. Furthermore, how secure are these devices to the vehicles? it may just be a big waste of money if they can be removed easily. Furthermore, our logistics system cannot be dependent on too much technology and we lose the ablility to do traditional tracking.
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe that in transit visibility is important, especially as we begin to draw down our military in this financially delicate atmosphere, I do agree that this method has the potential to dramatically increase the complexity of our already complex logistical system. This system may increase our ability to track what we own but it may also increase our dependance on technology and prove to be an empty investment. This method may, however, open other doors and contribute to the development of other effective equipment tracking methods.
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