Office for Command, Control and Com- munications – Tactical (PEO C3T), will move C4ISR COTS IT systems into the standard Army supply system by FY18. Te move will significantly simplify the process for Soldiers, by making use of a system they already know and use regularly.
BACK TO CENTER In the 2000s, when new digital capa- bilities and systems first flowed into Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the Army stood up and financed con- tractor regional support centers to meet the demand for replacement parts and repairs. Soldiers could quickly put in work orders for repair of C4ISR COTS IT on-site. It was an effective and imme- diate solution.
Since then, with the drawdown of forces in the Middle East, many of the regional support centers there have closed, leaving deployed Soldiers without easy access to repair parts and spares. Although much of COTS IT hardware is under warranty, the process of using it is often convo- luted, placing the burden of leveraging and managing the warranty on the unit. Tat can reduce the system’s readiness when Soldiers are required to manage the warranty actions for items that are not covered because of expired warranties or when damages are considered “other than fair wear and tear,” resulting in lengthy turnaround times for replacement parts and repairs.
In many cases, it would be significantly simpler, and therefore faster, to turn in a COTS item and requisition parts or service through the standard supply sys- tem that Soldiers use for other weapon systems. Te Army supply system, which leverages both unit-level resources and depots for repairs and replacements, also
CONTROL WELL IN HAND
PFEDS, used by forward observers and fire support teams to transmit and receive fires support messages, is one of many mission command systems that could transition into the standard Army supply system.
prioritizes requisitions based on the unit’s mission and urgency of need. In contrast, a warranty simply satisfies the terms of a contract without regard to priorities among units and equipment.
Furthermore, program managers and sustaining organizations must consider structuring warranties in a way that pro- vides insights into the execution of the warranty program, to make it possible to assess sustainment support options beyond the initial warranty provisions (i.e., whether to extend the warranties or fund repair services based on failure and repair data collected during initial war- ranty periods).
Tese efforts are linked to the Army’s goal of reducing reliance on contractor logis- tics support by training Soldiers to serve as the first line of defense for field main- tenance. Requiring Soldiers to manage
time-consuming warranties reduces the pace of battle and places undue burden on them. Feedback from the field indicates that Soldiers want to maintain C4ISR COTS IT systems in the same way they do their other weapon systems. Tey want to use a singular organic logistics system and simply push a button to order the repair part they need and receive it in a timely manner.
DEPOT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below Blue Force Tracking (FBCB2/ BFT) is the Army’s premier command and control and situational awareness capabil- ity at the tactical level and on-the-move. Currently, FBCB2/BFT components and repair parts are supported by the stan- dard Army supply system and repaired by Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania. While FBCB2/BFT components are not
ASC.ARMY.MIL 67
ACQUISITION
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