GCSS - Army Field Tactical

Written by Jim McDonough

U.S. policy to attack terrorism headon immediately thrust the Army into operations that required innovative organizations and tactics not previously envisioned. To fight the enemy with available forces, the Army needed to maximize technology. It also had to maintain and support combat forces in the field without significant increases in its logistics footprint.

The Army faced the challenge of enhancing weapons systems inherited from the Cold War and quickly fielding new systems to support soldiers fighting terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 21st Century ushered in a whole new level of change, not seen since the World War II and Vietnam eras that would impact the U.S. Army from the foxhole to strategic supply sources.

Shifting logistics support capabilities from a Cold War model to one adapted to fighting today’s war on terrorism can be as difficult for Army logisticians as anything facing the warfighter. In the past, the norm was to amass huge stockpiles of supplies for periods of intense combat. The task of procuring, maintaining and transporting these “iron mountains of supplies” became prohibitively expensive. Like their combat brethren, logisticians operated systems that had evolved over decades of forward-deployed divisions and CONUS garrison operations during the Cold War.

To meet current operational realities, logisticians needed visibility of the entire supply chain and an ability to manage supplies holistically. The Army enhanced its Standard Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS) to meet the logistics needs of today’s highly mobile and agile fighting force. Early improvements included upgrading hardware platforms and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to automate source data, improve information flow and provide better visibility of supplies throughout the system.

While these efforts represent significant progress, Army leaders realized much more was needed to revolutionize logistics and deliver a true 21st Century supply chain to commanders. In 2006, the Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems created the Standard Army Logistics Enterprise (SALE) to manage the transformation. The SALE is comprised of three components: a strategic national-level provider called the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP), Global Combat Support System– Army (GCSS-Army) Field/Tactical (F/T) for logisticians in the field, and an integrated database referred to as GCSSArmy Product Lifecycle Plus (PLM+). SALE components use the same commercial off-the-shelf Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software package and are thus designed to work together seamlessly.

The focus of this article is the field, where GCSS-Army F/T is working to combine the many current tactical logistics systems in place and package them into a one-source solution for the Army. When fielded, GCSS-Army F/T will operate in a truly integrated environment. All users will access and input data using a single database. GCSS-Army F/T will connect vertically from foxhole to vendor through the SALE and horizontally across functional areas of supply, maintenance and property accountability. The enterprise will make full use of internet technology, communications advances and the latest security measures. Users at all levels will see stocks and maintenance actions in real-time. Problems reconciling data among tiered systems will disappear. Soldiers will no longer question the validity of requisitions and resubmit them based on inaccurate information. Costs to support readiness will decrease.

GCSS-Army F/T will include enhanced tools to model stockade requirements. Military Requirement Planning (MRP) functionality inherent in GCSS-Army will replace the old Army paradigm of stocking repair parts over generations. Repair managers will no longer need to use rigid formulas that do not fit different scenarios and supply classes. MRP will forecast parts based on the user’s criteria and take full advantage of historical data. The SALE will allow Army logisticians to manage a supply chain instead of separate supply activities. As the SALE matures, the Army will reduce the need to stock repair parts forward as stocks are managed in motion through the supply chain.

In addition, GCSS-Army F/T will adapt to changes in supply and maintenance relationships dictated by task organization changes. In the fluid operational environments of the GWOT and other anticipated future conflicts, frequent changes in task organizations will no longer challenge logistics systems as they do today.

This fall, the Project Manager Enterprise Logistics System will put the supply capabilities of GCSS-Army F/T through its paces in an operational assessment. Lessons learned will be used to refine the system and prepare it for fielding.

While tactical logisticians face enormous challenges, the Army is working to deliver an enterprise solution that will serve them well. GCSS-Army F/T will provide field logistics soldiers and commanders the tools they need to support the 21st Century Army in fighting and winning the GWOT and future conflicts. ♦

Jim McDonough is the Army’s operations officer, product manager, Enterprise Logistics System.