Integration Story: RFID Plays Crucial Military Role In Middle East

By Claire Swedberg, RFID Journal Magazine

Radio frequency identification, along with satellite and cellular technologies, is playing a critical role in the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Major General James L. Hodge, commanding general of the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) division at Scott Air Force Base. At RFID Journal LIVE! 2009, held this week in Orlando, Fla., Hodge explained that RFID enables the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to track the movements of cargo to and from these regions. He urged technology providers to continue researching and developing products that can help the DoD's U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) division ensure that material such as food, fuel and clothing safely reaches combat troops when needed.

The SDDC, a subdivision of USTRANSCOM, is focusing on several new logistic challenges in the Middle Eastern wars, including providing visibility as the DOD adds a northerly route for cargo into Afghanistan through Europe, as well as the lack of a governmentmanaged RFID reader infrastructure in Pakistan, and the recurring problems of theft, attacks on supply providers and other delivery delays.

Used with permission from RFID Journal, Inc.