The Mobilization Readiness Tracking Tool—modernizing Coast Guard response efforts

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard “Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council” magazine by Mr. Samuel J. Korson, U.S. Coast Guard Office of Incident Management and Response.


The Coast Guard’s mobilization readiness tracking tool (MRTT) represents a modernization of force readiness. MRTT is a web-based tool that:

· streamlines Coast Guard personnel mobilization;
· captures mobilization-related data;
· provides stakeholders process visibility;
· is capable of tracking active duty personnel assigned temporary duty.

The Process
The MRTT will take a request, match an appropriate individual, and assign him or her to a billet. It will also prevent others from filling the same position. The system will track an individual if he or she is sent elsewhere and ensure that the individual is demobilized properly.

It is also capable of creating force packages (such as incident management teams and joint field office support teams) to facilitate response efforts.

The Contingency Personnel Requirements List
The tool will help tie the Coast Guard’s personnel database to the contingency personnel requirements list, a systematic process to analyze what personnel and equipment support a unit will need for a contingency response.

The MRTT matches the requirements from a unit meeting a surge situation to those on the contingency personnel requirements list. These lists can be uploaded into the mobilization readiness tracking tool, and the planner can then download the appropriate list or create force packages from that list to meet response efforts.

The Voyage Ahead
By providing an automated mechanism by which Incident Command System requirements can match selective criteria, the MRTT enables the Coast Guard to meet the needs associated with a given incident. Logistics section chiefs can remain at their stations within the incident command post and fulfill requests for personnel by entering the web-based system and requesting the appropriate competencies.


For more information:
Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2009.

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