Web-based logistics systems will improve performance, Joint Chiefs director says
Web-based logistics systems will improve performance, Joint Chiefs director says
By Bill Murray
GCN Staff
JULY 27—Armed services officials can dramatically improve their logistics systems' performance by using Web technology, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff's logistics director.
'We haven't made enough of a leap in the command and control of our logistics assets' compared with the Defense Department's improvement in other logistics functions, such as strategic airlift and sealift capabilities, said Army Lt. Gen. John M. 'Mike' McDuffie. Under Joint Vision 2020, DOD logistics systems must have Web-enabled total asset visibility by fiscal 2004.
'We've got to be [working] arm in arm' with the Joint Chiefs director of command, control, communications and computers—Air Force Lt. Gen. John 'Jack' Woodward—in using public-key infrastructure and other technology, McDuffie said.
Far too many DOD logistics systems still function in the batch process and sequential environment, he said.
'In the 1960s, the Defense Department was a world-class environment in using computers,' he said. DOD organizations have been 'a bit slower than industry' in deploying Web technology, in part because DOD officials have to adopt more conservative systems policies with redundancy built in, he said.
'We're not talking about a business having a bad quarter. We're talking about winning the nation's wars,' McDuffie said.
The Web can give DOD real-time logistics capabilities, he said.