Earlier this year, the Pentagon designated the U.S. Transportation Command as the “lead functional proponent for implementation of radio frequency identification and related automatic identification technology for the Department of Defense supply chain,” said a Transportation Command news release. The command operates the so-called Global Transportation Network — an automated command and control information system that gives users access to information about supplies and cargo while in transit.
According to Defense Department acquisition regulations, as of March 1, the only acceptable passive RFID tags are the ones known as “electronic product code class 1, generation 2.” Earlier versions of the tags no longer were authorized after Feb. 28.