The US Department of Defense has mandated the UID policy to be followedfor all defense related equipments submission on or after Jan. 1, 2004.  Unique Identification, also popularly knownas UID is defined as  "the set ofdata for tangible assets which include all military equipments, repairablematerial and consumables, that is globally unique and unambiguous, ensures dataintegrity and data quality throughout life, and supports multifaceted businessapplications and users." Through the UID policy, the DoD can significantlykeep track of the military items it buys by identifying them uniquely and inthat way can counterfeiting of parts. As a result of this UID policy, thelogistics will be enhanced and the business transactions supporting U.S. andcoalition troops will also be improved.

As compared to commercial item markings, the DoD's vision of UID policyoffers better item tracking and provides precise data for accountabilitymanagement, financial, and asset management purposes. The DoD has clearly setprerequisite criteria where UID policy is mandated to be followed. Theconditions are described as follows.

UID requirement criteria

If the cost of the acquisition is $5,000 or more.

If UID is a component of a delivered item, or  if the program manager has determined thatUID is required.

If the item is either a controlled inventory piece of equipment, ismission essential, serially managed, a repairable item, or a consumable itemwhere permanent identification is required.

If a DoD-recognized UID equivalent is available.

Basically a UID marking consists of a unique 2-D data matrix symbolwhich consists of Part Number, Serial Number, and CAGE Code  for every the product. This 2-DimensionalData Matrix Symbol is the lowest level of identifier and especially applicablefor the Aviation Industry. The basic idea behind this 2D-Matrix is to maintainuniformity in the inventory in all government deliverables. This 2-DimensionalData Matrix Symbol  can done either bydot peen, durable polyester, laser mark, chemical etch or ink jet. Only afterthe military products are marked through the unique identification process,they are UID complaint.  After marking,the items need to be checked to be confirmed to the standard setting. A furtherscanning and tacking of the items are done to check the accuracy of the itemsbefore they ready to be received. Finally, the UID data is submitted to theWAWF i.e. Wide Area Work Flow and UID Registry to be UID  compliant.

Benefits of UID

All tangible military items either owned by or in the contract with theDoD is mandated to be identified with a serialized unique identificationnumber. This unique identification number is indispensable for meeting theMIL-STD-130 standards. Because of this UID policy, The DoD can extract therelevant information about any items that are stored in the DoD UID registryvery easily.

Starting from efficient, faster tracking and  acquisition, repair, and deployment ofregistered items, the UID policy also helps accomplish a higher states ofoperational readiness. Also the status of items checking is a whole lot easierthrough this unique identification system.