BCS3 becomes heartbeat of ITV for Task Force Bastogne and SDDC.

As the Chevrolet was once dubbed 'Heartbeat of America,' the Battle Command

Sustainment Support System computer software is fast becoming the heartbeat of in-transit visibility for the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and its Task Force concept.

BCS3 is making its debut as a complete end-to-end cargo tracking managing system with Task Force Bastogne.

Task Force Bastogne is the second specialty transportation unit formed to provide customized end-to-end deployment and distribution support to a major Army unit. Task Force Bastogne is assigned to deploy the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky.

"While this is the first instance where SDDC is using BCS3 at its strategic deployment and distribution Common Operating Picture--COP--other Army and Marine units have used BCS3 in this capacity in the past while deployed to war as well as at home station," said Lt. Col. Joseph Grebe, program manager for BCS3.

BCS3 is program software that consolidates and maps data from a myriad of specialized data systems to provide SDDC and operation commanders strategic level visibility of cargo and containers shipped from an installation to a tactical assembly area.

Previous deployments tagged and tracked receiptable cargo and containers. Task Force Bastogne will be the first division-sized deployment to track cargo and containers with BCS3 as the focal point for data.

Throughout Operations Deserts Shield and Storm, Soldiers and combatant commanders did not have any way of checking the status and location of their orders resulting in excessive ordering and stockpiling of supplies earmarked for Southwest Asia.

"Supplies traveled from the point of origin through the distribution system to the end user with little or no visibility," said Rick Schwartzman, independent consultant for BCS3. "Soldiers did not have the confidence they needed to know that critical supplies were on the way so they re-ordered supplies and created unnecessary excesses of materials that stockpiled in theatre."

BCS3 generates a three-dimensional topographical information COE 

"The BCS3 is a fusion center for logistical information. The user will get a running estimate on BCS3's map-centric (map-based capability to see and pull-up information directly from the map) COP. The running estimate gives warfighters the logistical information they need to make better decisions, faster," Schwartzman said.

BCS3 is dependent on proper tagging and identification of all cargo and container items it will track.

The Fort Campbell Installation Team of Task Force Bastogne is a multi-unit group of Deployment Support Brigade personnel who work with the installation's Deployment Support Team and the division's Unit Movement Officers.

"The Installation Team provides cargo preparation guidance and assistance to the 101st," said Col. Pete Lennon, commander of Task Force Bastogne. "The team ensures the equipment and containers are documented, packed, and marked correctly and ensuring a smooth and traceable movement from the installation to Southwest Asia. As part of this documentation process, container contents are being captured, and more easily tracked in systems such as BCS3, than ever before."

Another feature of BCS3 is its communication feature. Each BCS3 computer is capable of sending and receiving messages throughout the system in conjunction with a satellite borne tracking device. This communications capability provides warfighters command and control for each mission and a means of providing force protection and rapid response if needed.

Users of BCS3 can "drill down" on sustainment cargo container shipments to identify each of the container's contents.

"A lot of times the content of a unit container will tell you 'cargo'--which doesn't tell you a whole lot," said Jeff Olenick, traffic management specialist for SDDC. "But for sustainment containers, you can drill down and there's actually a content record associated with the container. You can get down to the point where it will tell you how many cans of peaches are in it, as an example."

"BCS3 has been fielded in Europe since its inception during Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Grebe. "Many of BCS3's capabilities today are centered on the needs of joint land forces, providing a capacity to visualize end-to-end deployment and distribution management for the tactical warfighter. Today, BCS3 is used extensively by Army and Marine Corps elements deployed into the Central Command Area of Responsibility, throughout the European and Korean theaters, and at home in the United States."

Mitch Chandran, Public Affairs Specialist

SDDC HQ