WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii -- Imagine having to change all programs, forms, and nomenclature you use to conduct business.
Army logistics is undergoing that type of transformation right now. On July 22, the 599th Transportation Brigade logistics directorate was on the 188th day of conversion from Standard Property Book System-Enhanced (PBUS-E) system to the new Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-A).
"The 599th is the first unit in SDDC to go through the transition," said Sgt. 1st Class Juan Mendoza, 599th logistics noncommissioned officer in charge of logistics.
"They took all of the standard Army management systems that were separate before and combined them into one," said Neal James, 599th director of logistics.
James said the program links maintenance, supply systems, property book, and financial management of logistics into one.
"This gives the unit commander a chance to see everything at once," James said. "For example, he can see everything in the brigade, see what has been received and what has been turned in. He can also see the condition of equipment. It has a dashboard."
The program is very complex. Units first undergo web-based training about 240 days before conversion. After they train for the record on that, they then undertake new equipment training, which is hands-on.
"A team from the contractor came out to Schofield Barracks and did one week of training, then they helped logisticians work with the program for another week," said Mendoza.
"We were able to set up our laptops right there and work with the system while trainers answered questions and helped us through difficult spots," he added.
Mendoza said the software, called Systems Applications and Products, is also used to keep track of logistics for Fortune 500 companies.
"We also had to learn new vocabulary in order to use the system." James said. "For example, what we used to call national stock numbers are now called materiel numbers. It's that way throughout."
James said using the GCSS-A program is more complex for the 599th because the brigade is a Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) unit instead of a regular Army Modification Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) unit.
"We have a lot of equipment that is unique to transportation; it isn't used by the Army as a whole, so it has to be added in separately. MTOE units have their equipment already in the database," he said.
"It is also different for a TDA unit on the maintenance side," he continued. "While MTOE units have organizational maintenance, we have to go to a Logistics Readiness Center and then pay to have our equipment maintained."
Although it is a big change from the last program, James said it is all part of a natural progression.
"Before PBUS-E was Standard Property Book System-Redesign, and before that we had Unit Level Logistics System-S4," he said. "Each stage had conversion training, and each stage was a building block to get to this one."
Because the system has so much information, users have to set up limitations on what they see.
"Setting up the variables to collect exactly the data you need is one of the complex areas for the user," James said.
Mendoza said quarterly inventories are easier under GCSS-A.
"The program breaks down the inventory by location," he said. "Before, the program might say a unit had 100 laptops. This program would say we have 40 in S6, 10 in S1 and 50 in S3."
"Reconciliation is much easier now because it's automatic in the system," James said. "We went from reporting by disk in ULLS S4, to reporting online in PBUS-E, to now not having to reconcile inventory at all."
"As a logistician, I'm impressed with the unlimited capability of GCSS-Army as it relates to our wartime mission," James said. "It is a challenge, but three to five years from now, no one will remember the old legacy Stand-alone Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS) that we were using before."
Mendoza said it is especially important for him to master the system.
"This is the program for the tech generation," Mendoza said. "I want to make sure I'm an absolute expert on GCSS-A. In my next assignment, I'll be teaching it at the schoolhouse."
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