ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- In order to improve ammo business processes, the current Standard Army Ammunition System-Modernization, is being upgraded to provide more centralized and accurate information to support ammunition management.
SAAS-MOD is the system that Ammunition Supply Points, Ordnance Companies and Ammunition Transfer Holding Points use to account for ammunition before directly issuing it to a unit. The next System Change Package, SCP 11, will be distributed from February to May 2017.
"The Material Management Centers at the Theater Support Command, Expeditionary Support Command and Joint Munitions Command will be a part of this fielding" said Paul Campbell, Logistics Management Specialist, Combined Arms Support Command. "The change package's primary intent is to keep SAAS-MOD viable until the retail level can be subsumed by an Enterprise Resource Planning solution and is a step in that direction. The fundamental processes will not change, however, there will be inherent benefits."
"Beginning in 2017, the Army will have a new look and feel to the way it accounts for and manages ammunition at the retail level," added Campbell. This updated software program will provide several benefits not currently provided within the current system. The SAAS-MOD will consolidate asset and requirement identification, enhance ammunition accountability and supply operations, as well as streamline wartime logistics.
According to a Department of the Army memo signed by Michael K. Williams, director of supply at Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, the SAAS-MOD software package will enhance cyber-security requirements and replace the current client-server architecture that exists at each ammunition management node with a web-based application using a centralized database and thin-client.
"The benefits of having a single server to work with and enabling a file transfer of data will only add to the improvement of our ability to track and disposition our ammunition assets through the pipeline," said Ryan Senkbile, Logistics Management Specialist from the Distribution Division at Joint Munitions Command. "This system will not only affect the ammunition Soldiers in the field, but the Ammunition Supply Points at garrison locations around the globe that support home station training every day."
SAAS-MOD is an echelon system providing munitions management functionality from brigade through theater level for the operational Army. This improved system will enhance a unit's ammunition readiness and capabilities. In preparation for migration, all unit commanders of ammunition storage activities have been directed to conduct a SAAS-MOD database cleansing to ensure accurate information. In addition to asset management, the SAAS-MOD will support the combat commander's intent in forward positions and allow leadership to adapt to needs in the battlefield.
SAAS-MOD is managed by the Logistics Information Systems, Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems. The current schedule notes a completed government acceptance interoperability test conducted on Fort Lee, Virginia, in October 2016, followed by a planned user acceptance test with U.S. Army Europe in January 2017. Users of the new system are receiving both live and recorded training in preparation for the transition.
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