PEO EIS Enterprise Log

Written by PEO EIS

MLF 2009 Volume: 3 Issue: 8 (September)

Enabling Information Supremacy
www.eis.army.mil

A Regular Feature of Logistics News and Information Directly From PEO EIS

Tracking HMMWVs as they move through the Iraqi desert and over the dangerous roads of Baghdad; sharing critical information from an ambulance racing to a distant field hospital; bringing supplies and lifesaving equipment to emergency crews during disaster relief operations for Hurricane Katrina—all impossible during the first Gulf War—are today performed routinely by soldiers throughout the area of responsibility (AOR) and in the U.S.

MTS has been an integral part of Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003, and it is now gearing up in Afghanistan to assist with Operation Enduring Freedom and Egypt in support of Task Force Sinai.

Current users of the system see this as good news for soldiers. Vehicle operators have been especially vocal about how MTS technology has helped their convoys avoid roadblocks and hazards, and many say the system has saved their lives or the life of a fellow soldier.

The Movement Tracking System (MTS) is the Army’s primary position tracking and messaging source for logistics vehicles worldwide. MTS provides a satellitebased data communications system for locating and managing movement of Army assets and vehicles worldwide. It uses near real-time tracking and incorporates radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to support in-transit visibility, enabling commanders and logisticians to access detailed information on cargo being transported on MTS-equipped vehicles. It also provides visibility to other RFID-tagged assets when MTS-equipped platforms pass within 300 feet of other tagged assets. This mobile capability is not available in any other Army satellitebased tracking system.

MTS also provides a messaging capability between transportation managers and MTS equipped vehicles, allowing vehicle operators to communicate on the move. Leaders can pass critical information, routes and changes to their soldiers so they have what they need to achieve their missions.

In Afghanistan, MTS satellite service was activated in April, followed by a verification survey of required coverage. MTS recently established a technical field team in Kandahar. With this support structure in place, the next step will be to ramp up the MTS fleet population.

Logistics transport vehicles, and combat support (CS) and combat service support (CSS) tactical wheeled vehicles and watercraft will be fitted with MTS mobile units, and transportation elements will use MTS to monitor and control the in-transit status of their platforms, cargo and personnel throughout the theater distribution system. This will be extremely important in the rugged and treacherous terrain of Afghanistan as supplies are pushed out to outlying units.

MTS expanded to include Task Force Sinai in Egypt in May. MTS conducted surveys to verify coverage and performance in the Sinai region and fielded 60 mobile systems and 11 control stations in support of operations throughout Egypt. TF Sinai can be supported by the same satellite that covers Iraq and Kuwait. MTS is especially important in the Sinai because of the distance between the two main camps in Egypt and the fact that FM radios have unpredictable signal strength in long-range and mountainous environments and provide no in-transit visibility. More than 250 miles separate North Camp in El Gorah from South Camp in Sharm El Sheik, and communications while moving in between these two camps is tenuous. MTS’ satellite-based communications help convoys and combat vehicles stay in touch with each other and headquarters.

MTS has also spawned the much lauded Blue Force Tracker (BFT), used by the combat arms and joint communities to provide greater situational awareness of its own maneuver units. Currently, MTS pushes information to BFT to improve situational awareness; MTS is working with Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below to integrate a two-way situational awareness capability with BFT.

Future upgrades for MTS will add pre-formatted instant messages and increase the current text message length from 100 to more than 500 characters. Map symbology will convert to standard military symbology and eventually, the system could include capabilities that monitor and diagnose a vehicle’s health, and signal when it is due for service.

The exciting improvements slated for MTS will ultimately empower and protect soldiers on the battlefield and provide a sense of security that will translate to improved performance whenever and wherever mission requirements dictate. For more information about MTS, visit www.pmlis.lee.army.mil/mts.htm.

Sanchez Assumes Charter as the Army’s Product Manager, Defense Wide Transmission Systems

Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Sanchez received the charter as the Army’s Product Manager, Defense Wide Transmission Systems (PM DWTS) in a ceremony at Fort Belvoir, Va., on July 24, assuming responsibility for managing long-haul communications projects valued at more than $1.5 billion that support the Army, Joint Services, U.S. State Department and combatant commanders worldwide.

PM DWTS is part of the Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems project office (Team DCATS) of the Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS). Sanchez replaced Lieutenant Colonel Clyde Richards, whose new assignment is as executive officer to the U.S. Army Deputy Chief Information Officer/G-6. Gary Winkler, the program executive officer, Enterprise Information Systems, presented the Legion of Merit to Richards in recognition of his successful performance as PM DWTS.

Sanchez previously served as acting product manager, All Source Analysis System (ASAS), and deputy product manager, ASAS; as a company commander in the U.S. Army Information Systems Software Center at Fort Belvoir, Va.; as an S-2 in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; as a rifle platoon leader in the 4th Bn/21st Infantry, 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord, Calif.; and as an anti-tank platoon leader and executive officer in the 1st Bn/5th Infantry, Camp Hovey, Korea. ♦

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