THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 5, 1994 TAG: 9407050066
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
This may be a military supply sergeant's dream: ordering merchandise for troops in the field and actually getting it to them on time.
No longer do the Cpl. Radar O'Reillys of ``M.A.S.H.'' fame have to barter, beg and connive to get what they originally had ordered through the military's pipeline.
O'Reilly's constant horse-trading to get medicines, blankets and movies that supposedly were lost somewhere along the normal supply routes has been a tradition, albeit embellished in the television series, for the military over the years.
The Pentagon is determined to change all that.
There's a new system being developed by the U.S. Transportation Command that will track a box of boots, an M-1 tank tread or a Patriot missile system, regardless of whether they're on a truck, train, ship or plane. People can be tracked, too.
And the price tag to track an item is in the hundreds of dollars, not millions.
Taking a cue from commercial delivery services with reputations for being reliable, accurate and fast, and a growing number of interstate trucking companies, the military is about to promise its quartermasters and supply corps officers equally prompt service.
Army Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle, deputy director of the Pentagon's transportation command headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., was in Norfolk this week to watch computer operators at the Navy Material Transportation Office of Norfolk Naval Station, the central tracking facility for the program.
Two operations managers and 22 trackers providing 24-hour coverage were testing the first use of the system - a trainload of military cargo moving through the Midwest. The train was making its way to Fort Lewis, Wash., from its origin in Mannheim, Germany.
An Army brigade, once stationed in Germany, had been ordered back to the states as part of the United States' downsizing of the military. The 8,000-mile move of the brigade's equipment included shipping and rail services.
Using computer software in Norfolk, linked via satellite to actual train cars, Wykle could watch as the cargo moved out of the port at Bayonne, N.J., toward the Midwest.
Satellite communications units, priced from $50 to $190 each depending on the sophistication needed, are attached to the containers being tracked.
``As it moves through ocean ports, there are (mechanical) interrogators that read it, telling you where it is,'' Wykle said.
More expensive global-positioning devices, costing about $4,000, are used to pinpoint exact locations. They report back in intervals of 15 minutes or longer, giving the container's longitude and latitude, plus its contents and a host of other information.
Commercial carriers are required to carry satellite transceivers that provide two-way communication and automatic hourly position reports. A one-stroke ``panic'' button enables drivers to provide instantaneous emergency notification of accidents or other mishaps while en route.
The transceivers also can advise state and local authorities of the contents of shipments to assist in evacuation or fire protection.
On Tuesday, the cargo train was between St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., heading westward, its progress charted on a computer screen showing a U.S. map.
``At one point, two cars came off the track, so we were able to pick that up. We called and asked what was going on,'' Wykle said. ``Then, there was an unusual delay in St. Louis that we think was caused by vandals.
``We determined where it was and how long the train stopped. We were able to notify security to come out and check.''
As the U.S. reduces its military presence overseas, managing force movements may be the greatest challenge of all, Wykle said. The U.S. Transportation Command is meeting that challenge with the creation of the Global Transportation Network, known in Pentagon circles as ``Intransit Visibility,'' or ITV. Military passengers, including an entire company or brigade, can be located as well, down to flight number, destination or travel delays.
Only part of the system is currently working, Wykle said. Tests are being conducted mainly in the continental United States. Air- and ocean-route tracking systems already are available.
Proposals to build the complete system, scheduled to be operational by late 1996, will be accepted in February.
The ITV system may be exactly what the Transportation Command needs to watch its cargo - particularly high-interest items such as ammunition and weapons systems - return from overseas.
During the Desert Storm operation in the Middle East, the Pentagon shipped large numbers of containers, many of which had to be opened to see what was inside. Frustrated units, unable to immediately find what belonged to them, reordered, compounding the problem.
Wykle believes the new tracking system will eliminate such problems.
``As we reduce forces overseas, we are eliminating depots and stock points, so we will not be able to pre-position, or store as much stuff overseas,'' he said. ``The reduction in budgets means we can't have as many dollars tied up in inventory. All of those things are driving us towards better management of our materiel.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BILL KELLEY III/Staff
Army Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle is deputy director of the Pentagon's
transportation command headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
by CNB