Maybe I should have been clearer in that maybe in the future we will have an adequate system that will allow us to do real time tracking. So far, everything we have tried has met with either technical or bureaucratic difficulties. RFID, ITV, etc., all have their limitations due to how and where we operate. As well, we currently track items by shipment, not by individual piece. So if you called, I could tell you when your shipment arrived/departed a location, and maybe some of the on route stops it has made, but once that pallet is broken down, or sea container is emptied, the tracking stops for that shipment.
Here is an example of how it used to be, but I may be a little out of date:
1) You drop your UAB off in KAF, it is loaded onto a pallet or placed in a sea container. So we know where it is and can track it to its next destination.
2) Lets say that it goes to CM first, the pallet is broken down, and your UAB end up on a new pallet that goes out on a flight in 2 weeks. It is now part of a new shipment, which probably is not linked to the old shipment in the system.
3) The shipment arrives in Trenton, the pallet is unloaded, it waits on the floor until CBSA clears it. Because you are an augmentee, lets say from a reserve unit in London, your UAB goes out on a commercial carrier to the support unit there, as a new shipment with a new tracking number. Someone in London receives the shipment, probably not a traffic tech, and probably without access to the NMDS. They have none of the original paperwork you filled out when you dropped it off, and the only contact info is what is sprayed on your kit. So they wait until someone calls looking for it.
4) After 3 or 4 months, you start calling around looking for UAB. You call Pet, because you deployed with that Battle Group. They say, we all got ours 2 months ago, its not here, sorry call Trenton. You call Trenton, give them the number on the paperwork, they tell you they know it made it to CM, but will have to investigate further to track it down. They put it on their long list of things to do, and hopefully, if all the correct info is in the system, they can track it down.
5) Trenton final is able to figure out where it is, you call London ASU, they say we'll look for it, but seeing as it came in a month ago, it is probably squirreled away somewhere hard to find.
6) Finally, 6-9 months after redeploying, you finally get a call that your stuff has been found, please come get it out here, its been taking up space for months and why didn't you get it earlier.
Now, if they have finally managed to get all the bar code readers working, and the system set up at all locations, and the people trained on how to properly use the system, then they may be able to tell you where the UAB should be, at any given time. But I don't know if we are there yet.
). I had to come back, on my own dime during the week (6 hr round trip) in order to be there when the civvie was there with the key.
