Are there any current military procedures or practices that you believe you have a better process for?

Logistics Status reports (LOGSTAT) for ground units are important to communicate status of key equipment and supplies and what will be needed in a certain range of time to allow the Commander to truly see himself and the combat capability and for the supporting logistics commander to phase and stage support to flow in at the right time and to charge the pipeline to his next higher logistics formation.

LOGSTATs are notoriously inaccurate and lag in time. Log formations often estimate resupply off burn rate of that class of supply, particularly food, fuel, and water and temper it with LOGSTATs when they are reasonably accurate. Each theater does this different and often requires an extensive pooka punching and individual handling of information until it is all neat and tidy for submission to higher. This take up time, reduces information relevance.

How does Walmart stock what they need? They have Point of sale POS level data of what is consumed. That information is shared vertically, mechanically and automatically, with higher and upstream suppliers, who often still own the inventory and rent the shelf (VMI). Upstream is configuring shipments based of real demand and it is moving in real time. We don't have POS data, we have an Infantry NCO writing on An MRE box transmitting a LOGSTAT maybe once a day, possibly over tacsat at half the speed of smell.

Take people out of the data collection of LOGSTAT reporting and focus their efforts on subjective tasks like anticipating future ops requirements and leave nug work of the commodity supplies to a mechanical sensory collection. Use RFID level II tags of basis of issue (case, crates, ammo cans, gallons etc) of supplies and have that ping on a Army Battle Command System (like BFT) so it reports what is on the vehicles or have a hand held system for light guys. It uses other sensors on fluids and vehicles to gauge maintenance status, fuel on hand, and water on hand. It rolls up the report and the reorder quantity. The carbon units would then input subjective info and validate the mechanically calculated estimate and send the report to higher...maybe entering 4-5 things instead of 20-40 pieces of data in a structured LOGSTAT. These would roll up at the TF and BCT levels where FSCs and the BSB could leverage real time data and project it in time to work load aviation, airdrop, ground, and other distribution modes in advance and not compete for priority and space on sparse assets. The aggregated information is validated and supplemented by the SPO to the Sustainment Brigade and strategic logistics entities to charge the pipeline. This would allow the BCT SPO in particular to focus on distribution and problem solving. It would allow the S4 to give the BCT CDR a better picture of himself and capability. Instantaneous LOGSTATs could be pulled when the BCT S3 and Commander sense a battlefield opportunity and can commit without risking unintentional culmination.

SGT Joseph Gunderson The reason LCDR (Join to see) recommends requiring SWO's to sit for the 3rd mate's license is that it focuses exclusively on the tasks of operating ships. Shiphandling, rules of the road, marlinspike seamanship, load balancing, etc. None of the (important but somewhat extraneous-to-operating a ship that -isn't- in combat) stuff that the Navy does: fighting a ship, managing people, etc etc. Of course they need to learn that stuff, too, but it needs to rest on a solid foundation of seamanship first. Besides, that license is highly valuable in the civilian world, and gives them another high-paying option when/if they get out.

Training Surface Warfare Officers: Forget four years of the Academy or ROTC followed by SWOS...streamline the degree to a 2-year B.S. in "Maritime Sciences" to include a Third Mate's syllabus, followed by two years deployed afloat under instruction. Final exam to make O-1 and get Third Mate's papers, just like the good ole' days.