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in business terms, the customer," said Lori Jones, civilian chief of logistics operations at USTRANSCOM on the grounds ofScott
Air Force Base. "Our objective is to provide the customer - or warfighter - an accurate picture of what's moving."
Created and launched in the early 1990s, the GTN's benefits are clear, especially when compared to the separate
item-by-item, serial number-by-serial number inventory and tracking process each branch of the armed services used as recently
as during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
"Poor cargo documentation was a major problem during Desert Shield/Desert Storm," said Col. Donald P. Hart, military chief
of logistics operations at USTRANSCOM.
"Approximately 40 percent of the containers of supplies sent to the port of Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia, that war effort had to
be reopened, just to see what was in them. With the Global Transportation Network, we're trying to make sure that doesn't
happen again.
"Our military strategy is dependent on the ability to deploy and sustain the force," Hart said. "Knowing where assets are -
when in-transit from home station or vendor warehouse to the foxhole - is critical."
Jones said GTN is the Department of Defense's system for providing this capability. As efforts are made to maintain
movement velocity and ensure the customer's requirements are met, the informational needs remain constant.
Timely, complete and accurate data in GTN, Jones said, is critical to making informed decisions about the onward movement
and sustainment of the force.
Streamlining the process of shipping supplies to their destinations across the globe, Jones said, while improving the
quality of the data tracking these shipments, is what the GTN was created to do.
"For example, the DOD is making real strides in the employment of automatic identification technology," she said. "This
dramatically improves data capture at the source of the supply or transportation function, it improves port-processing
throughput and it enhances data quality in GTN. Wherever possible, we are leaning forward with our commercial partners to
advance the fidelity of information being provided, to effectively and efficiently execute the war."
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U.S. Transportation Command military personnel load cargo onto a C-5 craft. Military resources and humanitarian relief
are transported through the Defense Transportation System, managed by USTRANSCOM at Scott Air Force Base.
Supplies delivered to our operations in Korea are loaded on a truck and taken to a warehouse, where each is identified
electronically and inventoried right then and there," she said. "Linear bar codes are two-dimensional and can store a lot more
information about the items."
Blending U.S. military expertise - such as those whose experience includes being at the receiving end of supply shipments
- with civilians trained in commercial applications of information technology creates a hybrid corps of experts who continue
to integrate technological advances such as the GTN into real-world significance in terms of wartime needs.
"The Department of Defense has made some real improvements since Desert Storm," Hart said. "It's not perfect, but we're
continuing to work it and work it hard."
Another recent ITV capability, Jones said, is using satellite technology to aid in the real-time tracking of military
assets.
"Integrating satellite capability into the process and using the GTN to increase in-the-container visibility is a major
focus of our work," she said.
editor/publisher: Kerry Smith
email: ksmith@ibjonline.com
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