Stand-To!- Kitting of Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment 28 Dec 2007

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Edition: Fri, December 28, 2007
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WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"One of the tactics we implemented as a manifestation of the surge was putting ourselves dead center in contentious areas, going where the extremist sanctuaries were along with targeting Al Qaeda financial assets. These efforts forced a change in the differences between this year and last year." - Maj. Patrick Michaelis, an operations officer with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq.



TODAY'S FOCUS

Kitting of Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE)

What is it? The Installation Management Command’s (IMCOM) reputation is founded upon providing quality support to Soldiers and their Families through the delivery of "best value" installation services.

One of these "best value" services that IMCOM is implementing Army-wide is the kitting of organizational clothing and individual equipment (OCIE) within installations’ central issue facilities (CIF). Kitting is the process by which individual items are grouped or packaged together to create a special, single item. Based upon the unique mission requirements of the units stationed at each installation, the OCIE kitting process is a proven technique to reduce Soldier processing time at CIFs.

What has the Army done? Each Army Garrison has developed an OCIE kitting implementation plan which best supports the units at their particular installation. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bragg, for instance, configures five kits of non-sized OCIE. Consequently, the Garrison’s kitting process has been a major factor in reducing Soldier processing time from 28 minutes to 12 minutes. Several smaller CIFs have achieved similar results by pre-packaging OCIE (100 percent kitting) based upon sizing sheets completed and submitted by the Soldier at the installation’s central in-processing center. Even CIFs for which kitting is impractical are able to bundle items on the issue counter, rather than issue individually.

What is this important to the Army? In this period of funding and resource constraints, Army installations are constantly seeking new and innovative ways to become more efficient, while maintaining the focus on serving Soldiers. By decreasing the time that it takes to issue OCIE, Army Garrisons are able to provide an enhanced level of service to their prime customer — the Soldier.
INFORMATION YOU CAN USE

• 2007 Strategic Communication Guide - Read the 2007 Army Strategic Communication Guide for key messages and updates.
• Strategic Communication Coordination Group (SCCG) Workspace
• Army Public Affairs Portal
• Stories of Valor

NEWS ABOUT THE ARMY

• Field Artillery troops train volunteers (ARNews)
• Surveillance at its highest level (SAS)
• Army using video game as recruiting tool (AZC)
• Final destination for Pacific Army Reservists still unclear (PM)

WAR ON TERROR NEWS

• Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaida in Diyala; 12 killed, 37 detained (MNF)
• U.S. arrests suspects in case of missing Soldiers (EB | LAT)
• U.S. lists gains in its latest battles (EB | PHY)
• U.S., Afghan forces seize 2 terrorists, find weapons cache (DL)

OF INTEREST

• NCO recommended for Silver Star (SAS)
• Army Guard director looks back on 2007, looks ahead to 2008 (NGB)
• Pentagon catches up on tardy Combat Injury Pay (SAS)
• ‘Ironhorse’ brigade officer reflects on progress in Iraq (DL)

WORLD VIEW

• U.S. forces say Iraqi fighters killed (ALJ) | (Story)
• U.S. beefs up Pakistan force (AUS) | (Story)
• U.S. war bill hits $17 billion a month (AGE) | (Story)
• U.S. prepares to increase occupation forces in Afghanistan (ALJ) | (Story)

WHAT'S BEING SAID IN BLOGS

• Army blogosphere access (RRB)
• Scam artists targeting military members & Families (SM)
• Veterans' affairs - The documentary (BF)
• Check out "Weaponology 2" on the Military Channel (AR)