Program executive office for enterprise information systems news release (Jan. 27, 2005): Deployable Port Operations Center provides total asset visibility for SDDC in Kuwait.

ASH SHUAIBA, Kuwait -- From December 2002 to the present, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S. Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) has shipped more cargo for the American military than at any time in the past half-century.

During that period, the SDDC has moved more than 70,000 containers. That's enough materiel--from Bradleys to bullets to butter--to fill more than 1,000 football fields. Laid end-to-end, the containers would stretch from New York City past Fredericksburg, Va.

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Most of the materiel has come into Southwest Asia through Ash Shuaiba, a port south of Kuwait City. Helping SDDC Southwest Asia keep track is the Deployable Port Operations Center (DPOC), a suite of IT systems contained in an 8-foot-by-20-foot shelter, with satellite connectivity provided by a 2.4 meter Flyaway Triband Satellite Terminal (FTSAT). The DPOC functions as a deployable office, providing SDDC personnel with the same nonsecure Internet protocol router network, secret Internet protocol router network, video teleconferencing, fax, and IT capabilities they have at their home stations.

The IT capabilities include the worldwide port system, through which the SDDC tracks all common-user surface shipments; the global transportation network, which is the DoD system of record for in-transit visibility; and the integrated computerized deployment system, which, based on information provided by WPS, provides automated stow plans for vessels. Together, these capabilities add up to in-transit visibility and total asset visibility throughout the logistics pipeline.

Contact Stephen Larsen: [phone] or [e-mail].