2008 DoD RFID Summit for Industry

For complete
information and
updates on the DoD
RFID Policy, click here.

For complete information and updates on the DoD RFID Policy, click here.

On July 30, 2004, the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics signed a memorandum outlining policy for the use of RFID within the Department of Defense (DoD). The strategy calls for taking maximum advantage of the inherent life-cycle asset management efficiencies that can be realized with integration of RFID throughout DoD. Leveraging this technology to improve our ability to get the customer the right materiel, at the right time, and in the right condition is a critical part of our End-to-End Warfighter Support initiative.

The new policy addresses two general types of RFID tags: (1) active, which contains an internal power source, enabling the tag to hold more data and has a longer "read" range and (2) passive, which does not contain any power source, holds a minimum of data and has a shorter "read" range.

The policy directs the adoption of specific business rules for the active, high data capacity RFID currently used in the DoD operational environment to ensure continued support for ongoing Combatant Commander in-transit visibility requirements and operations.

The policy states that DoD will be an early adopter of innovative, passive RFID technology that leverages the Electronic Product Code (EPC) and compatible RFID tags.