When military families are transferred overseas, they soon will be able to track their possessions via the Internet during the shipping process.

Global Move Security (GMS), a shipment tracking system developed by RFID Decisions and pioneered by Red Ball International – a subsidiary of Atlas World Group –is making in-transit visibility and real-time tracking a reality.
Through the application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the military will be able to track complete shipments creating increased security, improved process efficiency and greater peace of mind for military families relocating overseas. This is the first time this technology has been used for the moving of household goods.
The military moves an estimated 300,000 families overseas each year. The new tracking program has been piloted with moves between Fort Lewis, Wash., and Germany.
"The customer benefits most from tightened security and shipment tracking," said Dave Hope, president of Red Ball International. "Ultimately the customer gains control over real-time shipment information and gains peace of mind knowing the integrity of his or her shipment is protected. It's really about improving service performance to maximize value to the customer."
RFID tags store information on tiny integrated circuit chips, about the size of a pin head, which are attached to shipment components. Strategically located RFID readers extract information stored on the tags and securely report, in real-time, their whereabouts to the GMS Global Server. The location information is then made available to families and transporters through the Internet.
RFID has been used by retailers to track products and merchandising. Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Gillette are among the companies that have mandated RFID applications for their suppliers. The Department of Defense's shipment tracking system takes the RFID technology one step further in tracking the shipment of household goods.
Red Ball International, with support from the Defense Department, has successfully completed testing the newly developed GMS system. Red Ball International partnered with the Defense Department's Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), RFID Decisions, LLC and RFID Global Solution Inc. to bring the system to fruition.
Red Ball plans to extend the technology to commercial shipments, once it is implemented in military moves. Details on how the technology and the process works can be found on the Red Ball International web site at www.americanredball.com/globalmovesecurity.htm.