Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system

Jeffrey R. Yost

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10

Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system

Jeffrey R. Yost

Charles Babbage Institute

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the late 1960s the US Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) engaged in an unparalleled, real-time computer networking project to manage all its logistics (location, inventory, maintenance, and transportation of personnel, aircraft, weapons, components, spare parts, etc.), the Advanced Logistics System (ALS). The $250 million ALS project was substantially larger in size and cost than earlier real-time computer networking projects (including SAGE programming and SABRE), but it has received virtually no attention from historians of computing. Ultimately, the ALS project failed. Drawing from an oral history with lead contractor Control Data’s (CDC) longtime ALS project manager, previously unavailable CDC documents, and documentation and an oral history from a leading external Air Force advisor on ALS, it shows how the AFLC pushed too far too fast in seeking to be a first-mover in creating a massive unified database and real-time computer network for highly complex logistics.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	History of Computing
Subtitle of host publication	Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings
Editors	Arthur Tatnall
Publisher	Springer New York LLC
Pages	89-100
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Print)	9783642151989
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10
State	Published - 2010
Event	IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference on History of Computing, HC 2010 Held as Part of 21st IFIP World Computer Congress, WCC 2010 - Brisbane, Australia Duration: Sep 20 2010 → Sep 23 2010

Publication series

Name	IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
Volume	325
ISSN (Print)	1868-4238
ISSN (Electronic)	1868-422X

Other

Other	IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference on History of Computing, HC 2010 Held as Part of 21st IFIP World Computer Congress, WCC 2010
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Brisbane
Period	9/20/10 → 9/23/10

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2010.

Keywords

Advanced Logistics System (ALS)
Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)
And computer networking
Control Data Corporation (CDC)
Real-time computing
Supply management
Technological failure

Publisher link

10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10

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Yost, J. R. (2010). Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system. In A. Tatnall (Ed.), History of Computing: Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings (pp. 89-100). (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology; Vol. 325). Springer New York LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10

Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system. / Yost, Jeffrey R.
History of Computing: Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings. ed. / Arthur Tatnall. Springer New York LLC, 2010. p. 89-100 (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology; Vol. 325).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Yost, JR 2010, Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system. in A Tatnall (ed.), History of Computing: Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol. 325, Springer New York LLC, pp. 89-100, IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference on History of Computing, HC 2010 Held as Part of 21st IFIP World Computer Congress, WCC 2010, Brisbane, Australia, 9/20/10. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10

Yost JR. Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system. In Tatnall A, editor, History of Computing: Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings. Springer New York LLC. 2010. p. 89-100. (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology). doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_10

Yost, Jeffrey R. / Materiel command and the materiality of commands : An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system. History of Computing: Learning from the Past - IFIP WG 9.7 International Conference, HC 2010 Held as Part of WCC 2010, Proceedings. editor / Arthur Tatnall. Springer New York LLC, 2010. pp. 89-100 (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology).

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Materiel command and the materiality of commands: An historical examination of the US air force, control data corporation, and the advanced logistics system

Abstract

Publication series

Other

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Publisher link

Find It

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