During fall of 2009, the Battle Command Sustainment Support System, or BCS3, began distributing a new software version to its users, version 08-10.02.04, which provides enhancements in usability, logistics reporting and common operating picture.
"I think you will find that the new version of BCS3 is a significant improvement over past versions," said Calvin Pilgrim, the product director for the BCS3 Product Management Office. "Providing this level of support to our users has been a long-standing goal, so commanders can make better decisions based on near real-time data."
Enhanced usability features include a "one-click" capability that simplifies startup and provides easy access to commonly used tools and information.
The Logistics Reporting Tool, or LRT, provides users with significantly expanded logistics reporting capabilities. For example, BCS3 has added more than 5,000 reporting fields, enabling users to create bulk water, fuel and ammunition reports for the first time.
"The client LRT ... brings new flexibility to managers viewing and overseeing logistics management issues within the command," said Col. Robert Schmitt, commander of the 287th Sustainment Brigade, Kansas Army National Guard.
Users will still have the ability to directly export this new data, as well as other specific data, into Microsoft Excel. This capability can reduce the time users spend compiling logistics reports from hours to seconds.
The common operating picture, or COP, is greatly improved from earlier BCS3 software versions. Version 08-10.02.04 boasts improved map features, new wizards, and simplifies user and graphical interfaces, which can be tailored based on the user\'s role.
Additional enhancements relate to system usability. One of the most significant is the flexibility of the unit task organization, or UTO, and the tracked item list, or TIL, both within BCS3 and the LRT. Now the user can import organic UTOs, make it the current UTO, modify it, name it, save it and tailor the new task organization to meet specific requirements. This includes the ability to create and save as many UTOs as the user desires. This same flexibility also applies to the TIL, which now references the Federal Catalog System, known as FEDLOG, as its source of commodity items.
One of the products of Program Manager Battle Command, BCS3 is the logistics command and control, or C2, system used by joint land-component forces. It fuses sustainment, in-transit and force data in near real-time to assist commanders in making critical decisions. BCS3 supports mission planning and execution in both classified and unclassified environments, and is the sole provider of logistics information to Battle Command, a suite of software products sharing a common architecture to support maneuver, fire support, logistics, airspace and strategic C2.
Contact: Timothy Rider 732-532-1258
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