So, the barcode on a 101 card....

[afgeo4]

Is knowing where your assets are during mission really a problem for you? I mean I've never been to a SAREX where the IC couldn't tell you who was where. It's not like there are hundreds of sorties being generated out of a mission base on daily basis.

If your guys can't track who's where without scanning cards, I think you have bigger issues.

[DNall]

At our last SAREX the USAF folks said it would be nice if we had some way of tracking, not only the members checking in, but also the where abouts of those members.  Say 6 people came in and 4 of them turned around and went out on a ground team and the other two got in a plane.  Other than going through all the paperwork how would we know.

I guess if we used the barcode system for check in, then on their way out have them swipe there card and then put a note as to where they where going, van XXXXX or aircraft XXXXX or lunch, we could keep track of who is out and who would be available for a mission.

That's not a technology issue, it's accountability, and that's a big basic deal in the military. You don't need to scan cards over & over to get that done. You can do it electronically. Or the old fashion way (tack sheets to the wall), but don't rely on someone's memory, especially not the very distracted IC. You get 4-6 or more air sorties & 5-10 GTs, plus staff, etc... yeah good luck keeping up with every individual at all times, even if you're the dedicated FASC.

[Hawk200]

There was also talk at one point in time to make SIMS "talk" to CAPWATCH and make it uploadable as well. 

That would be handy. The individual member would have to go in later and indicate in what capacity they served during the mission, but it would be really nice to have the mission numbers already there.

Pretty sure nothing came of it though.

Wouldn't surprise me. Oh well, maybe eventually.

[jayleswo]

The IMU2 software will track personnel that have checked in. For example, Aircrew members who have checked in are placed in an Aircrew pool. When they are assigned to an aircrew and then launch on a sortie this is tracked and their is a personnel locator function in the software.

[Short Field]

We use the IMU2 for missions.  I would really like to speed up sign-in with a bar code reader - but there is something useful about forcing people to sign in on a roster.  We actually use three rosters - one each for aircrews, ground team members, and mission base personnel.  Once they sign in, aircrew go to a aircrew holding area, ground teams to a separate area, and MB personnel are held near the sign-in area until the PSC can assign them to mission base positions.   

The concern is to not have people sign in, then just languish around mission base waiting for assignment.   When they sign in, they need to be put under a supervisor immediately.   Mission Base personnel report to whomever they work for,  aircrews to the AOBD, and ground team members to the GBD.  It is just a bit too hard now to track people who have signed in electronically and not be assigned to someone.  Paper rosters let you annotate on the paper what they are doing and who they work for.  You can tell at a glance who hasn't been assigned.  However, using that bar code reader to enter them in the IMU2 sure sounds sweet....

[RiverAux]

Mission sign-in is almost never a big waster of time on missions.  Speeding it up by a little bit doesn't get you much real improvement in overall efficiency.  Since most crews and teams arrive at somewhat staggered intervals there is almost always plenty of time to sign them in on paper.  Now, I'm not opposed to using technology, but this doesn't seem to be the area where we need it most, so it wouldn't be very high on my priority list.  Would I bang my fist on the table and say "Heck no, I"m not letting you scan my card, I want to scribble on paper!!"?  Nope, just wouldn't devote any of my personal time to developing the system. 

[FW]

If we can ever standardize our mission software and have it "talk" to WIMRS, I think we will be able to electronically track all aspects of the mission, generate appropriate verifiable records and get reimbursed at a fairly fast pace. 
Scanning a 101 card would be the easiest way to start things going.

Unfortunately it's been taking a real long time for things to happen.  It may take a few more years for completion of the task. 

[ray]

We use the IMU2 for missions.  I would really like to speed up sign-in with a bar code reader - but there is something useful about forcing people to sign in on a roster. 

The IMU2 is already set up to use a barcode reader for sign in - the barcode reader acts like a keyboard and enters in the CAPID.  The IMU recognizes the end of the barcode input and populates all of the personal info - all you have to do is verify the information and click update.  I found an old barcode reader and hooked it up to our squadron computer.  It's not particularly useful (in my opinion) - when has the time limiting factor on a mission or SAREX ever been the rate of sign ins.  But it sure is fun to sit around and zap stuff with the laser.

[Hawk200]

Mission sign-in is almost never a big waster of time on missions.  Speeding it up by a little bit doesn't get you much real improvement in overall efficiency.  Since most crews and teams arrive at somewhat staggered intervals there is almost always plenty of time to sign them in on paper.  Now, I'm not opposed to using technology, but this doesn't seem to be the area where we need it most, so it wouldn't be very high on my priority list.  Would I bang my fist on the table and say "Heck no, I"m not letting you scan my card, I want to scribble on paper!!"?  Nope, just wouldn't devote any of my personal time to developing the system. 

What I was looking for had nothing to do with time saving. It would be nice to scan my card, and not have to write stuff down (or hope I remember it all), do a mission, go home, dig in all my crap for the notepad with all the numbers and trainer IDs, login the stuff to e-services (which won't be fun after a long day), swear at e-services because I forgot something and it insists on being pissy about saving the info, finally log out, go to bed grumbling, and tossing all night because I'm certain I forgot to enter something.

See what I mean? I just want something that will do most of the crap so I can focus on getting the mission done. With the extensive flexibility of computers (meaning you can program to do almost anything), there is little reason that this stuff can't be done right now.

[Short Field]

[The IMU2 is already set up to use a barcode reader for sign in -

Good to know.  It provides possibilities for signing in.  The IMU will verify a persons Ops Quals - and I would trust it more than a two week old 101.

[KyCAP]

To anyone at NHQ reading this thread.

The reverse if the CAP ID card could easily be printed with a monochrome 2D barcode and encode ALL of the information from the front of the card as well as a greyscale version of the PICTURE that is being printed on the front of the Photo ID card.

I've worked with this type of data.... BTW - There is a published standard that could be adapted from the State Motor Vehicle Association that has guidance for that data for the back of your driver's license... along with other identification projects that are evolving for first responders.

http://www.aamva.org/KnowledgeCenter/Driver/SecurityFraud/securityframework.htm

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/rm/job_titles.shtm