Army medical logistics transformation focuses on readiness

Story by Kathryn Ellis-Warfield

U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. — Transformational change was the focus of a three-day exercise that brought together more than 100 stakeholders from throughout the Army.

The target: Integrate medical materiel into Army sustainment processes and systems.

“It is critical that we evolve medical logistics as we evolve Army sustainment,” said Maj. Gen. Robert Edmonson II, commanding general of U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. “There is absolutely no reason that medical materiel should not be delivered like all the other commodities.”

During the exercise at Fort Liberty that concluded April 12, Army sustainment experts worked through the steps necessary to kick off a “proof of concept” phase in early fiscal year 2025 for an effort known as MEDLOG in Campaigning, or MiC.

Historically, medical logistics has faced challenges, such as lack of a common operating picture, decentralized materiel management, deficient demand forecasting, non-standardized catalogs and reliance on medical treatment facilities for medical materiel and maintenance support.

As a way forward, medical logistics has been directed that it must fully integrate into the Army Sustainment Enterprise as part of the Army Campaign Plan 2023-2030.

“Bottom line, our number one priority is warfighter readiness,” Edmonson said. “There are some old ways of doing business, but those older ways do not allow us to provide the visibility and transparency we need to synchronize medical along with the other classes of supplies.”

Comprised of supply storage, distribution and maintenance, the intent of MiC is to achieve the integration of medical logistics into existing Army sustainment systems.

The first phase will focus on integration of medical supply and maintenance into existing Army enterprise systems, such as Global Combat Support System-Army, or GCSS-Army, and Supply Support Activities. Additionally, it will focus on training, outfitting and creating a standard comprehensive catalog comprised of standard and non-standard medical materials.

“It is this team who will figure out how to best transform medical logistics so that it is being delivered in parallel — as all the other classes of supplies — and getting it to the right place at the right time with the right level of priority,” Edmonson said.

The exercise allowed for the confirmation of a support concept and feedback from echelon-level participants, all while identifying any remaining gaps and risks that need to be mitigated.

“What you see in the room right now is 100 people who have traveled from all over the world because they know the investment now will pay dividends in the future, which really enforces the importance of this issue,” said Col. Marc Welde, commander of U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command.

By setting conditions and confirming the concept of support, the MiC proof of concept, which was developed through a planned approach, will take effect in first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Alexander Raulerson, deputy G-4 with U.S. Army Forces Command, addressed the group to express his support of MiC.

“You will find no stronger advocate than me,” Raulerson said, emphasizing the need to better “see ourselves” throughout the Army MEDLOG enterprise. “It’s very timely that we walk our way through this process to set what it is we are going to do for the Army of 2030 and beyond.”

An integral part of the MEDLOG transformation is creating a common operating picture for leaders at echelon to see their medical materiel readiness at home station and in operational environment.

“We must integrate into existing structures,” said Derek Cooper, AMLC deputy to the commander. “This is not niche. Some of these current structures don’t accommodate the MEDLOG commodity, so that is what makes this quite an initiative over the coming years and why we are here to get after it.”

On Fort Liberty, the 189th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, the 51st Medical Logistics Company and the units they support will begin the supply portion of MiC on Dec. 1. In addition, 3rd Infantry Division units at Fort Stewart, Georgia, U.S. Army Special Operation Forces units at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany, and several Brigade Combat Teams from the Army National Guard are also part of the initial proof of concept.

To address medical maintenance operations during the proof of concept, a pilot program called Home Station Medical Maintenance Support, or HMMS, will provide field-level support to units that do not have authorized biomedical equipment specialists to improve readiness and reinforce support to units as needed.

Jorge Magana-Cortez, director of U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency’s Medical Maintenance Management Directorate, explained HMMS and how not all Army units have someone to support their medical maintenance requirements. There are Soldiers unaware of the medical maintenance structure available to support them, he said.

“When I was a young Solider, I did not know that medical maintenance existed,” Magana-Cortez said. “There are units out there now, in the same situation, that I was in when I was 18 years old.”

Another part of the HMMS pilot is streamlining the management of maintenance records and parts allocation by utilizing the Army’s tactical logistics and financial management information enterprise resource planning solution, GCSS-Army.

With utilizing GCSS-Army for medical maintenance work orders, the end user will be able to track their devices in the system of record. This will also allow AMLC to clearly see the data analytics and trending data, allowing for better life cycle management.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Liz Miranda, CECOM’s deputy to the commanding general. “However, we will all go back to our commands and continue to think about what we worked on this week and how we need to continue to successfully implement this strategy for the Army.”

During the proof-of-concept phase, experts will integrate into the back end of GCSS-Army and other needed platforms to automate operations. Once in the final proof of concept, decisions on the final concept and a timeline for roll-out to the entire Army will be made.

“As we continue to integrate the medical commodity into the Army Sustainment Enterprise, it is important to keep in mind that you all are the key players in this huge transformation effort,” Miranda said.