Volume 6, Issue 1 - Naval Sea Systems Command - The US Navy

(SUSD) of supplies. Selective offload refers
to the ability to tailor the flow of supplies
to forces ashore by having the flexibility to
pull, stage and offload supplies from fleet
supply ships in any order or volume without
increasing the customer wait time. SUSD
refers to two distinct portions of the at-sea
cargo transfer process. Strike-Up refers to
readying cargo and moving it from its storage
location to the offload point onboard the
distribution ship. Strike-Down refers to the
transfer of the cargo and its storage onboard
the receiving ship or by forces ashore.
Asset Visibility and Planning is an
effort to enable Total Asset Visibility (TAV)
within the afloat operational logistics supply
chain by integrating the development of
enabling technologies. OPLOG has supported
development and evaluation of a number
of automated identification technology
(AIT) options, including 2-D barcodes
and radio frequency identification (RFID)
tags for shipboard applications.
Standardized Containerization
recognizes that “It’s a mess out there.”
Improving cargo-handling efficiency requires
a reduction in the multitude of sizes, shapes,
and weights of current cargo packages.
Core equities
OPLOG is targeting a significant reduction
in cargo package variation through the
development of a standardized Joint Modular
Intermodal Container (JMIC). The current
JMIC development effort addresses the
need, technical characteristics, and military
utility of a baseline family of JMICs, all
with a common dimensional footprint and
interface. A JMIC Interface MIL-STD is
being developed to assure consistency of
hardware amongst multiple manufacturers
while reaping the cost benefits of competition
in any large-scale procurement.
The JMIC has been purposefully
developed to integrate seamlessly with
standard twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU)
loads, or other commonly used platforms, into
warehouse pallet-sized loads that are AITenabled.
JMICs can be transported as single
or multiple units. Sixteen JMICs will fit into a
TEU with minimal blocking and bracing.
Several JMIC variants are being
developed including a 3,000-pound capacity
and a lightweight 1, 500-pound capacity.
The JMIC Standard includes vertical stacking
and locking that allows the sides to be
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF
RE-SUPPLy AT SEA (Continued on page 12)
Top and side: These photos show some of the current logistics re-supply practices which RDT&E efforts seek to change or update.
Photos provided by Jeff Benson, NSWC Carderock Division.
SEAFRAME
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