Military's fuel tracking system could expand to private sector.

• Position: BATTLEFIELD LOGISTICS

* Oil is a precious commodity, whether for use commercially or by the military to power its myriad vehicles and aircraft. It is also vulnerable to being stolen as it is transported cross-country by fuel tankers.

GlobalTrak--a Dulles, Va.-based cargo-tracking company--announced in July it had completed its shipment of fuel-monitoring systems to Afghanistan for Defense Logistics Agency contractors who transport oil across the country's dangerous roads.

Ongoing war in Afghanistan makes fuel transport particularly dangerous, and its dirt roads--which are either dusty or muddy depending on the weather--contribute to tankers running off-road and making fuel delivery more difficult, said Rich Meyers, vice president of GlobalTrak and business development at its parent company, ORBCOMM.

When fuel theft occurs, it's harder for the military to complete mission-critical goals, but it also may strengthen hostile forces, he added.

"Fuel is kind of liquid cash. It's very fungible. It can be resold very easily on the black market," Myers said. "It's hard to sell an MRAP on the street there."

The system prevents fuel theft in three ways. First, GPS...