Vilseck, GERMANY -- The 7th Joint Multinational Training Command and the 18th Military Police Brigade are the first United States Army Europe units to undergo training on the new Global Combat Support System -Army (GCSS-Army), June 15 -- July 2, 2015, here.
Company commanders, executive officers, Soldiers, and DOD civilians were welcomed by Col. Thomas E. Stackpole, United States Army Europe G4, to the new era in logistics support.
GCSS-Army is new technology that is changing the existing independent Standard Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS), which includes supply, maintenance, ammunition, property book and finance, into one fully integrated system. It provides Soldiers with a seamless flow of timely, accurate, accessible, and secure information that gives combat forces a decisive edge.
"The idea of getting an overall picture of your enterprise, clear visibility of all transactions, and being able to optimize your resources helps the precision of your organization," said Stackpole.
"Two of the current systems that units use such as, Property Book Unit Supply Enhanced (PBUSE) and Standard Army Maintenance System Enhanced were good ways of ordering, accounting, and issuing inventory for its time, but they had major flaws because they were two separate databases that did not communicate with each other when inventory was ordered, issued or moved" said Lt. Kier Elmonairy, executive officer of headquarters company, 7A JMTC. "As a result, one or two times a month we would have to do a system to system scrub to make sure the numbers matched what we had on hand."
Elmonairy said GCSS-Army will only be as good as the Soldiers imputing the information, but once we get the hang of the new system units will be able to work supply more efficiently.
About 480 officers, enlisted Soldiers and DOD civilians, received training in the Commanders Course, S4 Course, Unit Supply Course, Property Book Course, Maintenance Clerk Course, Maintenance Manager and Master Driver. This training will take place on Hohenfels and Vilseck.
"GCSS-Army is a vast improvement in the Army's logistical support system, because it streamlines the efforts of so many systems and provides the user access to what is needed all in one location," said Capt. Brandon W. Davis, commander of headquarters company, 7A JMTC. "I do however think that the initial shock of the change will be intense, but once everyone's onboard it will prove to be a great enhancement."
Davis said the commander's role within GCSS-Army is significantly enhanced. The commander can now take a more proactive role in the areas of maintenance and supply while still delegating subordinates the authorities they need to accomplish their mission.
One example of this is that the commander is now more involved in the management of supply transactions and dispatching of vehicles within the company as a direct result of GCSS-Army.
When fully deployed, GCSS-Army will affect every supply room, motor pool, direct support repair shop, warehouse, directorate of logistics and property book office in the Army, improving efficiency and visibility.
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