Lockheed Martin Demonstrates Battlefield Ministry Tracking System For U.S. Army
OWEGO, NY, May 9th, 2000 -- Lockheed Martin Owego has developed and successfully demonstrated a portable wireless Battlefield Ministration Tracking and Information System (BMTS) for the U.S. Army. The system was designed to meet the needs of chaplains and notification officers who provide emergency pastoral services to soldiers on battlefields, in field hospitals and on support bases. The demonstration at Ft. Jackson, S.C. showed how this new communication network tracks and transmits data about emergency ministration, such as last rites, sacraments, baptism and prayer to a central point where it can be used by casualty assistance officers who are responsible for notifying next-of-kin about injuries or casualties. Chaplains at the Fort Jackson demonstration were very pleased with the results.
The BMTS prototype was researched, designed and developed by Lockheed Martin Owego under a one-year, $260,000 Research and Development project funded by the U.S. Army's Advanced Concept Technologies (ACT II) program. Army chaplains worked closely with the development team.
In the past, chaplains have been hampered in their ability to record and quickly transmit detailed information to casualty assistance officers, which affected both the content and the speed in recording and sending critical information. With the BMTS, these officers have a chance to give specific and detailed information about what emergency ministry services were delivered, including any messages or last words for next-of-kin.
From the battlefield to the sustaining base, the BMTS was designed to be flexible and user-friendly. It can be used with a wide range of hardware devices, such as wearable, palm-size, laptop, vehicle-mounted and desktop computer units. It is adaptable to many different wireless and satellite network connection options, and uses commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software to minimize cost and simplify implementation.
"This is an innovative approach to fulfilling the individual information needs of battlefield personnel, while conducting the full range of military operations," commented Steve Lubniewski, senior vice president, Systems Solutions. "The new system allows members of the Unit Ministry Team to deploy anywhere in the world and still accurately collect, process and maintain personal information on the battlefield."
Noted for excellence in quality and process management, Lockheed Martin Owego has attained the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model sm (CMM®) Level 5 rating, the highest rating for a company's software development capability. The SEI CMM® Level 5 is the level that allows improvements to existing processes and illustrates excellence in the evaluation, adoption and integration of new processes and technologies.
A leader in providing advanced-technology products, services and systems integration solutions, Lockheed Martin Owego serves defense, civil and commercial customers worldwide. The company employs about 3,800 employees at facilities in Owego, N.Y., Springfield, Va. and Portsmouth, United Kingdom and is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Capability Maturity Model is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University.
CMM is registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University.
Charlie Carrington (607) 751-2598, e-mail:charles.carrington@lmco.com
Michael Drake (607) 751-2598, e-mail:mike.drake@lmco.com
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