ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Army modernization touches all aspects of military life. That includes Army dining facilities.
It’s always been too easy for single Soldiers without dependents and living on base to walk or drive to the dining facility (DFAC) and whip out their trusty meal card and get a nutritious meal. What hasn’t been easy is when a civilian or Soldier living off-base stops by the DFAC. In a credit card world where plastic is king, that hasn’t been the case at Army DFACs. Not having cash or too large of a bill would cause problems. With only so much time to eat before getting back to work, this issue made the DFAC an easy problem to avoid when you had to get back to the job fast.
Enter the Army Communications-Electronics Command's Software Engineering Center (SEC). Their developers have come up with software called the Automated Headcount (AHC) Point of Sales (POS) system that interfaces with a prescribed credit card device. The software has made it possible to take credit or debit cards at Army dining facilities along with other benefits.
“The effort to move the DFAC to a cashless system meant the timing of this functionality was perfect for them,” said George Quarles, Team Lead with SEC working at Fort Lee, Virginia. “The requirement came down addressing the credit/debit need, but our software also captures Soldier’s meal entitlements and headcount by category and service component which makes our software unique to commercial POS systems.” All these features add efficiencies and ultimately save time for all patrons stopping in for a breakfast, lunchtime or dinner meal.
SEC deployed the AHC POS software in October of 2020 and the credit card devices are making the rounds for the initial roll out. The plan is for more and more facilities to get it and the training that comes along with it.
There are several innovative technologies already in use in many of your Army DFAC kitchens. As Army modernization arches on in all facets of the enterprise, soon you can expect the innovations to reach the front door of all DFACs, making fast and cashless payment processing possible for everyone.
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command's Software Engineering Center, SEC, headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, ensures the operational readiness of fielded software by developing, providing, integrating, and maintaining Army Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) logistics and business software.
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