For the Warfighter: Equipping Readiness at the Speed Missions Demand

By Brian Sells, Vice President, Sensor Mesh Solutions

Rows of vehicles and crates stretch as far as the eye can see—every Humvee, spare part, and weapons case a building block in the Army’s ability to fight. It looks like a warehouse, but it’s more than that; it’s the backbone of combat readiness. Each item represents time, money, and mission-critical capability—but only if the Army knows exactly where it is, its condition, and who is accountable for it.

For decades, that visibility has depended on painstaking manual work. Warfighters walk the aisles with clipboards or tablets, reconciling inventories, and updating spreadsheets—processes that can take days and still leave gaps. Every hour spent tracking equipment is an hour taken away from training and mission preparation.

Multiply that challenge across hundreds of motor pools, depots, and forward operating sites, and the scale becomes staggering. From a single warehouse to the entire Force, the Army’s supply chain is vast, complex, and indispensable. Achieving sustained readiness at that scale requires more than diligence; it demands modern technology.
 

Realities of readiness

Warfighters are pulled from training, and the pace of operations slows as valuable time is lost to activities like reading off serial numbers, ordering parts last-minute, or dealing with faulty gear. These inefficiencies ripple outward, delaying timelines and putting the Force at risk. Manual counts and disconnected systems leave room for error, and stale data undermines decision-making when speed matters most.
 

From alert to airborne in 18 hours or less 

In rapid deployments, knowing the location of every piece of equipment is critical.

You have been activated and ordered to deploy as a commander. Bags are packed, but you still need to mobilize containers housing mission essential equipment. You learn there are discrepancies with the serial numbers of equipment currently packed, resulting in a scramble for inventories and administrative corrections. Instead of spending time with loved ones before deployment, you are rushing to finalize preparations.

Some brigades are tasked as Global Response Forces, requiring the ability to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours of notification, including unstable and contested environments. Inventory systems that provide real-time data for assets’ locations, status, issue dates, and current hand receipt holders eliminate guesswork and ensure gear is ready to deploy with the Force at the speed missions demand. 
 

Reliable gear for a relentless tempo

Readiness is more than just having the gear you need; equipment must be operational when it reaches a unit, CONUS or forward deployed.

Your JLTV is non-mission capable. If you knew when it was last serviced reflecting its condition, and needed parts, you could have serviced it ahead of time. Instead, the issue was identified when drawing the vehicle. With the long lead time to receive certain parts, this will impact both training and readiness for 120 days.

Maintenance histories that highlight trends, reveal when parts are nearing failure, and diagnose issues early enable units to have visibility into when to order replacements. Shared records across bases would empower units to reallocate spare parts or serviceable equipment to priority units, reducing downtime and keeping the op tempo intact. 
 

Equipment to fuel the fight 

In the field, supply drops are vital to warfighting.  

Your unit receives a resupply only to find it falls short—some of the request is missing, some items were over the requested quantity, and some items are unusable. The unit is at risk, exposed, and at a disadvantage. You urgently relay a message back to HQs to inform them the critical shortage and need for immediate resupply, redirecting assets in a contested environment.

For warfighters, up-to-date inventory records prevent disparities in documentation, decreasing the rate of equipment failures. Every item must be inspected, certified, and fully operational before being dispatched for use. Especially in contested environments, warfighters trust that their gear is in top-quality condition; their safety depends on it. Stale data can lead to audit findings, diverting valuable time to process remediation.

When every second counts, accurate asset visibility and reliable equipment are the difference between mission success and risk to the Force. 
 

Protecting the Army’s next-gen assets

Next-gen assets drive the Army's future fight. Protecting investments in high-value equipment requires strict accountability and precise tracking to avoid wasting funds. Accurate lifecycle data ensures investments translate into combat capability rather than lost or underutilized gear.

When assets are documented and maintained correctly, issues are caught earlier, repairs are timely, and equipment stays mission-ready longer. This reduces costly replacements, keeps fleets in service, and ensures units have reliable tools when they need them. Streamlined tracking also lowers administrative burden, returning valuable time to warfighters. From individual units to the highest commands, the impact spans thousands of assets and every echelon of the Army.

Together, this proactive approach preserves investments, enhances readiness, and ultimately safeguards the lives of those who rely on such vital resources—because every hour lost is one less spent building combat power.
 

Technology as a force multiplier

LMI’s Edge Asset Tracking & Management capability is the technology required for the Force to stay mission ready, built for speed and the realities of dispersed, rugged environments.

LMI’s capability unifies multiple IoT systems and vendors in the enterprise through a single point of entry, seamlessly connecting with the current system of record. RFID and wireless mesh tags on assets track them across depots, vehicles, and operational environments while cloud-hosted analytics transform raw data into insights with auto-generated dashboards. Combined, this real-time visibility accelerates decision-making and reduces the units’ manual workload.

Users, whether on a handheld device or a desktop, can benefit from the ability to access maintenance histories, record accountability, and view real-time equipment status. By closing documentation gaps and streamlining processes, units are ready, and the Force is protected—fueling combat power.

LMI’s capability is already modernizing inventory processes for the Army, eliminating bottlenecks and giving the Force back the most valuable resource of all—time. 

No matter the use, this capability becomes essential to daily operations, providing reliable decision support when and where it matters most.

By fusing commercial speed with federal rigor, we deliver the tech for a sharpened battlefield advantage. The result is an Army that stays agile, resilient, and ready for tomorrow’s fight.
 

Visit our booth at AUSA for a live demo: go.lmisolutions.com/AUSA2025