BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- The Logistics Information Network is celebrating its tenth anniversary as a Defense Logistics Agency conduit that links multiple logistics systems operated by the military services, the DLA and the General Services Administration. The network provides real-time catalog and other management data; visibility of wholesale, retail and excess assets in the inventories of the military services and DLA; and gives tracking capability for user requisitions.
The network began with a U.S. European Command initiative in 1991 to meet two needs: provide visibility of the supply pipeline and resolve network connectivity problems overseas. Development started with access to three databases: an Air Force logistics information file (now AF Stock Control System D035), Army Total Asset Visibility (TAV) and the DLA Standard Automated Materiel Management System (SAMMS).
By 1994, organizations worldwide used LINK. Because of this expansion in the user base, USEUCOM transferred management of the program to the DLA. Since then, LINK has grown to provide cataloging information on supply items, asset visibility (excess, wholesale and retail), and in-transit visibility from 15 logistics databases managed by the military services, DLA and GSA.
The PC version of LINK that was designed by DLA addressed the second USEUCOM requirement regarding network access. Insufficient network bandwidth is often a problem for unified commands. The DLA design provides those organizations with a tool that overcomes this problem since it loads on users’ personal computers and only has to be on-line when queries are being sent or when checking for a response.
The queries and responses are sent in a "burst" via File Transfer Protocol. The feature makes PC LINK an essential logistics tool in environments with limited network capabilities such as deployed units and ships at sea.
One of LINK’s most popular features is its simple batch uploading capability. This feature was most recently put to the test just before operation Iraqi Freedom as the I Marine Expeditionary Force was preparing to leave Camp Pendleton for the Middle East.
DLIS personnel received a call from the local DLA Customer Service Representative, Barry Haynes, asking for a custom extract of Federal Logistics Information System packaging data. The request was forwarded to the LINK office with a flat file of some 8,500 stock numbers. This file was run against the Logistics Remote Users Network database and the packaging data output sent on to Camp Pendleton. At the time, the LINK staff had no idea about the role that I MEF would play in the push to Baghdad.
Batch input has always been a popular feature with LINK, but LINK also has an output side. Karen Blanck, LINK program manager, explained that the idea of getting LINK output into a spreadsheet was brought to the LINK office by an Army warrant officer stationed in Korea.
“Chief Burton had a monthly reporting requirement for requisition status from SAMMS,” Blanck said. “We worked with our Defense Automatic Addressing System Center programmers, and, for about $300 worth of programming, we saved the chief many man-hours of repetitive manual effort.”
That original idea was expanded to other databases for PCLINK; and now, with more emphasis placed on the Web, even more capability is becoming available in WEBLINK.
Finally, LINK continues to evolve in obtaining more information at a faster rate by pursuing more RapidLINK connections. Most recently, the Web version of LINK has expanded to 12 databases that will return query results within seconds.
But even with newer and faster technologies, LINK can still provide critical logistics information to the war fighter in the field where bandwidth can often be a problem. This ability has made LINK a system that continues to withstand the test of time. Users can also access LINK on the World Wide Web through the WEBLINK interface.
A derivative of WEBLINK with special menus just for Foreign Military Sales customers is WEBLINK International. A personal digital assistant or PDALINK interface format is also available.
The LINK mission was transferred to the Defense Logistics Information Service which processed approximately 250, 000 queries through the LINK servers in fiscal 1995. By the end of fiscal 2003, LINK had processed 15.3 million queries for that year alone. It currently has approximately 5,500 users worldwide.
Since LINK’s inception, the Army has been the largest user with the Army’s Logistics Integrated Data Base receiving one-third of all LINK queries -- approximately 250,000 per month. For this reason, LINK has become an integral part of training for Army logisticians at the Quartermaster and NCO schoolhouses at Fort Lee, Va., as well as the Warrant Officer’s Infantry and Advanced Courses at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Staff members from the LINK office are also invited annually to the Worldwide Logistics Training Workshop at LOGSA, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., to present workshops on the latest program enhancements.
Another partner is the Defense Automatic Addressing System Center which supports LINK through critical programming design, systems and 24/7 helpdesk support. The program has also received support from the Navy’s Streamlined Automated Logistics Transmission System or SALTS.
In 1999, as part of a live test of the LINK/SALTS connection, members of the LINK team spent a week aboard the USS Camden, a combat support ship home whose home port is Bremerton, Wash. The team traveled on board to San Diego, Calif. The test was orchestrated through the DLA CSR accompanied by the LINK program manager, a DAASC technical expert and a LINK analyst. While underway, the LINK team learned first-hand the daily challenges of the ship’s storekeepers, particularly, the communications environment in which they work and how LINK could be improved to better serve the Navy customer.
The LINK Program Management Office is part of the DLIS in Battle Creek, Mich. For additional information such as how to register for an account or request training, visit the Web site at www.dla.mil/dlis and look in the “Programs” section for “Logistics Information Network (LINK)” to connect to the LINK information page. E-mail inquiries may also be sent to the LINK office at linkadm@dlis.dla.mil.
A field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency, DLIS creates, obtains, manages and integrates data from a variety of sources. It shares this data through user-friendly products and services that support logistics operations throughout the Defense Department, other federal agencies and elements of the private sector. DLIS' expertise in federal, U.S. military, NATO and other international cataloging and information management makes it an important contributor to electronic commerce between the U.S. government and its many suppliers. For additional information about DLIS, visit www.dla.mil/dlis.
Defense Logistics Agency provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations. More information about DLA is available at www.dla.mil.
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