Deployed Forces Information and Evaluation System (DEFINES) Phase 1: Overview of Personnel Locating and Tracking Technology

摘要

In the past, the Armed Services have encountered numerous difficulties in tracking personnel who changed component (i.e., Reserve to Active and back to Reserve); changed deployment status (i.e., deployed and re-deployed); or had become casualties. Further, the Services could not account for the physical whereabouts of its personnel. The Services have also struggled to determine who was exposed to health hazards during deployments. The emergence and development of technologies such as the smart identification (ID) card, and new location determining systems like the Joint Personnel Asset Visibility (JPAV) system, and new location determining systems based on the Global Positioning System (GPS), could foster new and innovative ways to gather and use location data. The current project explored potential uses of emerging individual location tracking technology by the Air Force personnel community. The application opportunities discussed were to support military personnel research; to provide data on health hazard exposure assessments; and to respond to inquiries and address personnel management issues at the field command.