Interagency Logistics – a new model for RFID in the DoD
The DoD is not known for cooperation nor agility. Projects costing billions of dollars often drag on years late because of stovepipe organizations that refuse to be knocked down. One of the keys to making the US Department of Defense Mission Capable is having what I have coined “Maneuver Logistics” assisted by 21st century technology. Technology that helps break down those silos and creates Interagency Logistics initiatives.
Maneuver Warfare is at the forefront of today’s Defense Department, sometimes it is referred to as fourth generation warfare. Essentially it means small rapid forces engaged in often ambiguous areas of combat against non-traditional enemies. Following the principles espoused by John Boyd – visibility, agility, and fast decision cycles (Boyd refers to these as OODA loops) is often at the heart of Maneuver Warfare.
This style of combat – the antithesis of building up attrition based armies to fight near-peer enemies– requires strong support of non-kinetic missions like logistics. Materiel has to move faster and more vastly than ever before to support Maneuver Warfare. That can’t happen with 30 year old logistics processes and technology and it won’t work unless there is Interagency Logistics systems. A single standard and an electronic platform that spans not only the DoD but all NATO forces is critical to achieving success. RFID is one of those transformational technologies.
RFID must be seamless and vertically integrated to enable Maneuver Logistics. It can’t be putting up a bunch of portals at warehouse doors and expect an immediate change. One retired four star general saw ODIN’s SMART Container – an integrated RFID, GPS, SATCOM and active RFID solution and commented that it’s like a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) for logistics. What he meant was the automated RFID technology was like having two soldiers inside each container that could call in at regular intervals and report the location, condition and count of what was inside the container. This is the type of platform that removes soldiers and sailors from non-kinetic activity and can put them to better use and it is also technology based on a DoD standards so it spans not only our DOD, but the UK and Australia’s MOD and other NATO armies.
If interagency logistics is the future of the US Department of Defense agencies must build joint capabilities based on Maneuver Logistics with 21st century technology. Soldiers can’t act as fast as a computer and can’t move with zero errors. We would never think of sending up pilots without the latest radar, tracking, or stealth technology, why should the teams that support them not have the same competitive advantages? The future for the DOD interagency logistics will depend on transformational technologies like RFID to0 bridge that gaps that people may not or cannot span. Transformational technologies like active and passive RFID will have to be brought forward so they are easy to adapt and easy to use across joint forces around the globe.
