Today's Army must be prepared to deploy worldwide at a moment's notice. Our National Military Strategy calls for an Army quick-response force capable of deploying from U.S. bases to support contingencies anywhere in the world in a very short time. The success of such rapid deployments depends on the availability of pre-positioned equipment, materiel, and ammunition. Deployments that depend on drawing pre-positioned equipment to support their assigned missions are a complex business. They require detailed planning in advance to ensure that deploying forces are trained and equipped properly to meet the requirements of the situation.
Many sources of information exist to support the deployment mission.
Accessing this information quickly and efficiently requires technological solutions-automated repositories of information and software tools to access and manipulate the information. The key is leveraging technology to provide cutting-edge software that the deployment planner can master quickly with minimal training. Chief among this software is the Automated Battlebook System. In its current form, the ABS is released on CD-ROM approximately every quarter with updated data, battlebook text, and new program changes. Information on the APS is transmitted in real time via the Internet to the master data servers in Alexandria, Virginia, and Rock Island, Illinois.