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Global Combat Support System-Army: Deployment Wave 2

Monday, June 29, 2015

What is it?

The Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army) is a major new information system that is improving every warehouse, supply room, motor pool and property book office in the Total Army. Fielding is accomplished using the wave approach in order to not shock the supply chain and cause disruption to ongoing operations. Wave 1 replaces the Standard Army Retail Supply System and Wave 2 replaces the Property Book Unit Supply-Enhanced and the Standard Army Maintenance System.

Why is this important to the Army?

GCSS-Army enhances mission command by allowing leaders to more rapidly and accountably build and maintain unit readiness. The centerpiece of building unit readiness is the ability to make decisions based on accurate and reliable logistics data. GCSS-Army is web-enabled, allowing users to access the same data from the same source, anywhere in the world. Readiness is directly tied to operations; without one you cannot have the other.

What has the Army done?

The Army has been fielding GCSS-Army Wave 1 for the past several years. We are 88 percent fielded and by December 2015 fielding is projected to be complete. The Combined Arms Support Command and the GCSS-Army product manager have provided support to ensure units received the necessary training and deployment support, and captured lessons learned for further fielding groups. One such lesson learned is that GCSS-Army is not “just another fielding,” it must be treated as an operation and prioritized on the same level as major exercises and deployments. Units have demonstrated the positive impact that operational planning and leader engagement can have.

Wave 2 fielding began in January 2015 and is projected to go through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. One of the first units to receive Wave 2, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, successfully deployed to the Joint Readiness Training Center. The deployment allowed the Army to put stress on the GCSS-Army system and capture lessons learned in a combat-like environment. GCSS-Army proved itself capable of aiding leaders to quantifiably see and measure equipment and supply chain readiness.

What continued efforts are planned for the future?

Over the next three years, the rest of the Total Army will be fielded GCSS-Army Wave 2 and begin employing it at Combat Training Centers and operational deployments. Additionally, the Army is developing a Business Intelligence capability that will use information from GCSS-Army and other Enterprise Resource Planning tools to extract critical data for decision makers at all levels. Business Intelligence will allow users to query massive amounts of data and quickly receive information essential to maintain unit readiness.

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