RFID goes to war
Come 2005, radio frequency identification will no longer be an option for the U.S. military. It will be the law.
For the Pentagon, RFID systems are part of a major logistics revamp. And the deadline for suppliers to attach RFID tags to many of the goods they ship to the American armed forces is indeed looming.
The military has spent about $100 million in implementing the technology over the last decade. The buildup is aimed at reducing the loss or misplacement of supplies that added to the costs of the 1991 Gulf War. Another goal is to stop critical shortages of ammunition, fuel and water that plagued American troops during and after the invasion of Iraq a year ago.
Supply problems did not cause any battlefield deaths in either conflict, according to Alan Estevez, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for supply chain integration at the Pentagon. Still, he believes that RFID technology will help maintain the smooth flow of supplies to the front lines and has the potential to help save lives in future conflicts.
