Home - Yahoo! - Help

[ Business | US Market | By Industry | IPO | AP | S&P | International | PRNews | BizWire | CCN ]

Company Press Release

Internet Moves More Than Data for Defense Department

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) was recognized this week as one of 25 national finalists chosen from 1,600 entries in the Ford Foundation's competition recognizing Innovations in American Government.

DRMS' Internet initiatives have made excess and surplus military equipment increasingly available since 1994, greatly reducing customer dependence on the in-person screening system. Such efforts made more than $5 billion in goods available to government and eligible non-profit groups last year.

``It has not been easy for us to harness this new technology,'' said Navy Capt. Richard H. Feierabend, DRMS commander. ``A team of wonderfully dedicated professionals learned the new ways of channeling information from existing systems into Web-based applications.''

Finalists are eligible to receive $20,000 and will compete for an additional $80,000 each to encourage their programs' replication across the country. With its selection, DRMS already has distinguished itself as a leading example of a government agency tackling a tough situation -- and succeeding -- by using an innovative and creative approach.

``These innovative programs demonstrate each year that American democracy consistently changes while producing outstanding results,'' said Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation, which sponsors the awards program. ``We hold them up not only as models of success, but also as evidence of the dynamic nature of American governments.''

The Innovations in American Government Awards recognizes outstanding government programs at all levels. DRMS is the only Defense Department activity among the five federal programs that are finalists. Customers now have access to property all over the world without having to travel to where it is stored. As a result, more excess and surplus property is being reused, transferred or donated to customers who might otherwise have purchased new items.

``Thanks to the Internet we receive 6,000 requisitions monthly from military users and property searches have increased by 466 percent since 1996,'' said Sherry Low, chief of the RTD Business unit. ``We hope this inspires other agencies to take full advantage of what the Internet offers.''

On Oct. 13, representatives from DRMS will describe the program and answer questions before the Innovations in American Government Awards National Selection Committee. On the following day, the Committee will announce the 10 winning programs.

More information about DRMS is available on the Internet at www.drms.com or www.drms.dla.mil

SOURCE: Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service