PREPARE, DEPLOY AND SUSTAIN

At the heart of every Army operation is a Soldier—and it’s the mission of the U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command (AMLC) to support the battlefield medics and doctors who sustain that Soldier’s fighting strength.

As the Army transforms to meet the demands of the future fight, Army medical logistics are also rapidly evolving and synchronizing to become more agile, efficient and effective.

AMLC ORIGINS

While the Army has been around for nearly 250 years, AMLC has existed for a mere five years. Headquartered at Fort Detrick, Maryland, the AMLC was activated in 2019 as part of a larger Army restructuring effort.

Previously, all medical logistics functions belonged to the U.S. Army Medical Command, specifically, under the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC). MRMC was a 2-star command that served as Army Medicine’s headquarters for medical research and medical materiel.

To optimize Army sustainment, the Army split medical logistics functions out of MRMC and created AMLC under the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC). In that transition, 100% of the medical logistics mission, functions and funding were transferred to AMC.

AMLC rapidly took shape, becoming the headquarters overseeing three direct reporting units; the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency; the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Europe; and the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Korea.

TODAY’S RESPONSIBILITIES

As the Army’s Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) for medical materiel, AMLC oversees a medical materiel portfolio of nearly 90,000 pieces of medical equipment, executes $300 million in Class VIII medical materiel transactions annually and centrally manages medical contingency programs worldwide. The command also distributes 2.7 million vaccine doses worldwide, valued at more than $50 million, and fabricates nearly 70,000 pairs of glasses at its two medical materiel centers in Europe and Korea.

AMLC synchronizes medical sustainment throughout the acquisition life cycle—a key part of how the DOD makes decisions on what types of medical materiel to develop, procure and field to the force.

In 2022, AMLC marked a major milestone in medical logistics (MEDLOG)’s capabilities with the creation of an AMLC Integrated Logistics Support Center (ILSC)—which is a critical centerpiece of AMLC’s ability to support the operational force. The ILSC serves as the end-to-end integrator for medical materiel throughout its life cycle, starting with product development all the way through divestiture as items reach the end of their useful life.

A key capability under the ILSC is the Logistics Assistance Program (LAP), which provides support to operational units across the Army. Army medical maintenance is a layered approach. A unit’s biomedical equipment specialist, or 68A, performs field-level medical maintenance. If the unit’s Soldiers need help to overcome a specific maintenance issue, they can get support from a LAP expert.

Since AMLC oversees and executes sustainment-level maintenance, the LAP experts can bridge the gap between field- and sustainment-level maintenance, helping units determine if a device needs to be evacuated back to a Medical Maintenance Operations Division (MMOD) for higher level repairs.

LAP experts are also educating the force about an important change directed by the Army in 2021 (HQDA EXORD 138-21) that requires units to place all medical devices into GCSS-Army to increase readiness reporting.

In most cases, however, the LAP serves as the “face to the force” when it comes to operational support. LAP representatives provide a direct link to units, providing training, resolving medical maintenance issues and being the eyes and ears for Army MEDLOG in the field.

THE WAY AHEAD

One key emerging capability of the ILSC is it uses data science to execute predictive logistics support, informing decisions at the speed of war. Predictive logistics is the use of data analysis, machine learning and statistical algorithms to forecast future supply chain requirements, identify potential disruptions and optimize resource allocation. By harnessing historical data, real-time information and advanced analytics, military planners can anticipate logistical needs, mitigate risks and streamline operations. By predicting equipment maintenance requirements and supply needs, the Army can ensure that troops are adequately equipped and prepared for missions. Predictive maintenance algorithms can anticipate equipment failures before they occur, reducing downtime and enhancing overall readiness.

The AMLC is learning to use predictive analytics to enable efficient allocation of resources by forecasting demand patterns, optimizing inventory levels and identifying opportunities for cost savings. This ensures that critical supplies are available when and where they are needed, reducing waste and improving resource utilization.

Predictive logistics will also enable the AMLC to identify potential disruptions, such as adverse weather conditions or enemy actions, and develop contingency plans to mitigate their impact and enhance supply chain resilience.

By optimizing inventory levels, minimizing transportation inefficiencies and preventing costly equipment failures, predictive logistics can result in significant cost savings for the Army. By leveraging data-driven insights, military planners can make informed decisions that maximize operational efficiency and minimize expenditure.

As AMLC continues to strengthen its enduring ILSC capabilities, such as predictive logistics, the organization is also tackling some major issues that have plagued MEDLOG for decades. These include a lack of common operating picture, decentralized materiel management, deficient demand forecasting, nonstandard catalogs and reliance on medical treatment facilities for medical materiel and maintenance support.

As a way forward, the Army directed medical logistics to fully integrate into the Army Sustainment Enterprise as part of the Army Campaign Plan 2023-2030. To make this happen, AMLC has taken the lead with an effort called MEDLOG in Campaigning (MiC). MiC will bring MEDLOG into the Army’s enterprise business systems. The aim is to eliminate “swivel chair” burden. This will rid the need to use multiple systems to order, maintain or conduct inventory management, etc. Presently, MEDLOG is siloed in its own ordering platform. This change will reduce systems, training requirements and overall complications with many common medical logistics functions.

MiC will simplify and standardize the catalog, as well as create a single medical supply and pharmaceutical (e.g., CLVIIIA) catalog, based upon combat requirements.

Additionally, MiC will eliminate process variations so Soldiers train as they fight. One of the biggest challenges in MEDLOG was that the old way of doing business meant doing it one way at home station and a different way in an operational environment. MiC will also integrate medical materiel into multiclass supply support activities. Medical materiel will be received, stored and distributed in the same facilities and platforms as all other commodities. By shifting medical materiel into the regular sustainment infrastructure, AMLC will reduce redundancy and streamline storage and distribution requirements.

The effort will also improve unit access to maintenance. MiC is establishing a Home-Station Medical Maintenance Support (HMMS) capability, in accordance with Army Regulation 750-1, “Army Materiel Maintenance Policy,” which provides field-level maintenance support to units without authorized biomedical equipment specialists on their Modification Table of Organization and Equipment. This will align medical maintenance to existing sustainment processes of non-medical Army equipment. It also enhances unit medical equipment readiness and reduces overall cost. The first HMMS capability is currently operating as a proof of concept at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

CONCLUSION

Change is always challenging, especially the level of dramatic transformation MEDLOG has embarked on over the past five years. AMLC has found through lessons learned that to create lasting change, the organization must leverage partnerships across the Army and joint forces.

To shape MEDLOG integration and transformation in a way that garners stakeholder buy in, AMLC has partnered with stakeholders, including Headquarters, Department of the Army-G4; U.S. Army Forces Command; U.S. Army Europe-Africa Command; U.S. Army Materiel Command; U.S. Army Sustainment Command; Combined Arms Systems Command; Special Operations Command; U.S. Army National Guard Bureau; and other organizations throughout the DOD. These partners have been key to shaping MEDLOG integration—and truly none of AMLC’s achievements would be possible without them.

Finally, end-users, including Soldiers in the field, have been a crucial source of feedback to ensure changes do not negatively impact their ability to execute mission requirements. Participating in Army and joint exercises worldwide is one way that AMLC tests its mission capabilities and gets direct feedback from units about what is working and what needs improvement.

Just like all other parts of the Army, MEDLOG is adapting and evolving to counter emerging threats worldwide. AMLC remains open to change that benefits the Army’s overall ability to fight and win our nation’s wars. Yet, what will never change is Army Medicine’s promise to warfighters that if they fall sick or get wounded or injured on the battlefield, support will be there—equipped and ready to help.

AMLC remains prepared to deliver medical logistics, sustainment and materiel readiness—from the strategic support area to the forward tactical edge—to increase survivability and sustain fighting strength.

For more information, please go to http://www.amlc.army.mil/ILSC/.

COL. MARC R. WELDE is the commander of the U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command. He holds an M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College and an M.S. in human resources from Chapman University.

LEIGH ANNE ALEXANDER is the director of the Integrated Logistics Support Center at Fort Detrick, Maryland. She holds an M.S. in biotechnology, an MBA from University of Maryland, and a B.A. in chemistry and B.A. in American studies from Lafayette College.