John E. Wissler, Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.). The NDS focuses on investments needed to improve the ability of forces deployed abroad to maneuver against an enemy and ensure that the posture of those forces (how they are arrayed in theater) has resilience (the ability to sustain losses and remain effective). To say the least, the challenges of military logistics are unique. During World War II, from 1939 to 1945, the United States delivered 1,089 warfighting ships to the fleet that today would be classified as battle force ships. 28. But there are challenges all along the supply chain, addressed by different agencies and military commands in a complicated set of processes, and a collective reluctance to assume responsibility for the mission. These challenges become infinitely harder when considering the vastness of the Pacific or the intricacies of meeting challenges across the depth and breadth of Europe. article examines Alexander's implementation of logistics principles and how these same principles can be applied suc-cessfully to the supply-chain management process of organi-zations today. Lovelace February 27, 2023. The Movement Coordination Centre Europe commissioned RAND Europe to conduct a scoping study to understand constraints of operating in Africa, as well as barriers to the efficient coordination of airlift and other logistic support in the continent. 19. Future logistics command and control systems can ensure agility by operating despite an enemys efforts to disrupt communications through cyber and electronic warfare. The authors examine the logistics and sustainment aspects of an emerging operational concept for employing a family of unmanned aerial vehicles that can be launched, recovered, and sustained with minimal reliance on runways. It also outlines a range of options to deliver global mobility in dynamic threat and policy environments. In addition, unmanned platforms that can evacuate the injured from the point of injury without sacrificing high-cost combat platforms and additional combat capability will be critical in the dispersed battlefield. Stay on top of the latest RAND research highlights, news, and commentary with the official RAND email newsletter. Ultimately, the effectiveness of any logistics capability is determined at the tactical level, but sustained success at the tactical level requires effectiveness further upstream at the operational and strategic levels. Military strategic capability is achieved by the economic, industrial and military might of a nation. On deeper inspection, however, the differences are profound. Logistics survivability upgrades can achieve reduced targetability of the logistics force through development of manageable electronic signatures, a reduced logistics footprint, and improved distribution with reduced static inventory. In addition, the success of every new system and concept, every new technology and military organization, must be evaluated against the commensurate evolution and revolution in logistics sustainability. Importance of Logistics It must be able to dictate the time and tempo of its buildup and control the massive capabilities of the U.S. military. They also are applicable across the entire U.S. military from the strategic level to the tactical level. ognition of the importance of the logistics system to these ar-mies, attacks on magazines, baggage trains, and lines of . Logistics owns the great privilege of . The Importance of In-Transit Visibility on U. S. Military Logistics INTRODUCTION Just as Abraham Maslow presented a hierarchy of human needs from survival to growth, military logistics mirrors this building block approach to satisfying certain basic needs before more advanced facets of military strategy and doctrine can be formulated. Port facilities capable of handling critical munitions movements are critical to force deployment and sustainment. The success of military logistics during the past 16-plus years of overseas combat operations is partly to blame for anyones assumption that continued logistical success in the ever-changing national security environment is a given across the entirety of the military logistics enterprise. U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Logistics, Joint Publication 4-0, October 16, 2013, p. I-1, http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/jp4_0.pdf (accessed May 29, 2018). To the lowest war fighter, logistics support must . Unfortunately, to those unfamiliar with its intellectual and technological breadth, depth, and complexity, it can be considered an assumed capabilitysomething that simply happensor, worse yet, a back office function that is not connected to warfighting capability. See, for example, The Honorable Mark T. Esper, Secretary of the Army, and General Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, statement On the Posture of the United States Army before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, 115th Cong., 2nd Sess., April 12, 2018, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Esper-Milley_04-12-18.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018); The Honorable Richard V. Spencer, Secretary of the Navy, statement on Fiscal Year 2019 Department of the Navy Budget before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, April 19, 2018, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Spencer_04-19-18.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018); Admiral John M. Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, statement on Fiscal Year 2019 Navy Budget before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, April 19, 2018, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Richardson_04-19-18.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018); General Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, statement on The Posture of the United States Marine Corps before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, April 19, 2018, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Neller_04-19-18.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018); and The Honorable Dr. Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, and General David L. Goldfein, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, USAF Posture Statement: Fiscal Year 2019, Department of the Air Force presentation to the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, 115th Cong., 2nd Sess., April 24, 2018, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wilson-Goldfein_04-24-18.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018). Effectiveness is ultimately what matters at the tactical edge. Global Security.org, Sealift in Operation Iraqi Freedom, last modified July 7, 2011, https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/sealift-oif.htm (accessed May 30, 2018). Prior to World War I, the German Army knew in detail what it would take to deploy the force via railroads to the frontiers. Perhaps not so obvious is the interconnectedness of supply readiness to all other aspects of unit readiness. 29. The span of that bridge was literally a ship every 72 miles from the US to Kuwait. It is often termed "the Forgotten War" in the United States. Simply stated, supply readiness is the ability to have the right types and amount of equipment available for a ground unit, a ship, or an aviation unit. Six months may seem a long time, but the volume of activity was immense. Lieutenant General Michael G. Dana, USMC, 21st Century Logistics: Designing and Developing Capabilities, Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. The importance of logistics was central to Alexander's plans, indeed his mastery of it allowed him to conduct the longest . These 1,089 ships included 32 carriers, 10 battleships, 62 cruisers, 442 destroyers, and 563 frigates and destroyer escorts.26 Compare this to the Navys Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2019, which proposes the construction of 54 battle force ships during the five years from 2019 to 2024.27. Logistics is perhaps the most complex and interrelated capability provided by todays military. For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, / For the want of a shoe the horse was lost, / For the want of a horse the rider was lost, / For the want of a rider the battle was lost, / For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, / And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail. Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poor-richard-s-almanac (accessed May 30, 2018). 13. Shipbuilding History, Large Naval Ships and Submarines, http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/navalships.htm (accessed July 27, 2018). Logistics: The Lifeblood of Military Power, DoD, Mass Comms Specialist 3rd Class Karl Anderson, http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/jp4_0.pdf, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Esper-Milley_04-12-18.pdf, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Spencer_04-19-18.pdf, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Richardson_04-19-18.pdf, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Neller_04-19-18.pdf, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wilson-Goldfein_04-24-18.pdf, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dna, https://www.ustranscom.mil/cmd/aboutustc.cfm, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/McDew_04-10-18.pdf, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/log_quotes_navsup.pdf, https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf, https://news.usni.org/2018/02/16/new-pentagon-separation-policy-non-deployable-service-members, http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104583/civil-reserve-air-fleet/, https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/sealift-oif.htm, http://www.msc.navy.mil/publications/pressrel/press03/press34.htm, http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/navalships.htm, https://news.usni.org/2018/02/12/fy-2019-u-s-navy-30-year-shipbuilding-plan, https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/2017/10/21st-century-logistics, http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrarsenalofdemocracy.html, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poor-richard-s-almanac. Fuel, ammunition, food and water, and medical supplies are all critical needs on the front lines. See Esper and Milley, statement On the Posture of the United States Army, April 12, 2018; Spencer, statement on Fiscal Year 2019 Department of the Navy Budget, April 19, 2018; Richardson, statement on Fiscal Year 2019 Navy Budget, April 19, 2018; Neller, statement on The Posture of the United States Marine Corps, April 19, 2018; and Wilson and Goldfein, USAF Posture Statement: Fiscal Year 2019, April 24, 2018. 1. Of these ships, 26 were operated by federally employed mariners and 141, or 84 percent, were crewed by merchant mariners employed by commercial companies under contract with MSC. 1. Read this work not for its focus on the sea but for its focus on national power. logistics, in military science, all the activities of armed-force units in roles supporting combat units, including transport, supply, signal communication, medical aid, and the like. Responsiveness can be improved by leveraging industrial-base support from the point of manufacture to the tactical edge forces. The growing complexity and diversity of the needs of modern-day armies require supply and logistics efficiency, enabling militaries to achieve national goals. Researchers identified approaches the U.S. Coast Guard could take to improve crew satisfaction with precommissioning assignments on offshore patrol cutters and overall fleet readiness, then evaluated the options using five criteria. Just as DNA represents the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something,9 logistics planning and modernization define the distinctive characteristics or qualities of the military force and ultimately provide the military commander the freedom of action, endurance, and ability to extend operational reach that are necessary to achieve success. Unlike commercial companies with global distribution operations, the military faces conflicts that usually erupt with very little warning and immediately create enormous demands for support akin to the Christmas rush, the Black Friday crush, and Cyber Monday rolled into one. Unlike commercial firms that can prepare by the calendar, the military must operate without knowing when the date of each event occurs and still have the ability to respond to a sudden change in the latest hot item within hours, if not minutes. Utilizing its people, trucks, trains, railcars, aircraft, ships, information systems, and distribution infrastructure, as well as commercial partners 1,203 aircraft in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and 379 vessels in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA), USTRANSCOM provides the U.S. military with highly responsive strategic mobility.11 Its handoff to service logistics personnel around the globe creates a distribution pipeline that moves critical sustainment from the factory to the tactical edge of U.S. military operations. The force of tomorrow must be ready to defeat a peer competitor in a broad battlespace that requires security for each logistics movement, the ability to off-load across various widely distributed locations, with minimal infrastructure, and in a communications-degraded environment. Within logistics, the supply function is critical to equipment readiness. Mattis, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, p. 1. It should be noted that the current shipbuilding plan projects 11 more battle force ships than were projected in the 2017 plan. It's impossible to overstate the benefits of business logistics systems or the importance of distribution logistics. New principles must be embraced to achieve the requirements for successful logistics capabilities in support of operational commanders and the National Defense Strategy. Logistics became particularly important for being the backbone of the entire supply chain. 9. This simple two-sentence statement effectively captures both the complexity and far-reaching implications of military logistics. Military partnerships exponentially improve the depth of logistics capacity available, creating force posture options that may not have existed before, shape regional capability, and influence long-term commitment through the sharing of organic and non-organic national industrial capability. Perhaps counterintuitively, a constrained ability to build new iron (ships, aircraft, and major ground weapons systems) actually increases the logistical burden and budget because the cost of maintaining older systems necessarily increases. 20. The combination of innovation and new technology is therefore critical to maintaining the competitive logistical advantage that U.S. forces have enjoyed since World War II. The Timelessness and Ever-Changing Nature of Logistics. Robert L. Wilke, Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, memorandum, DOD Retention Policy for Non-Deployable Service Members, February 14, 2018, https://news.usni.org/2018/02/16/new-pentagon-separation-policy-non-deployable-service-members (accessed May 29, 2018). http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrarsenalofdemocracy.html, (accessed May 29, 2018). If you believe and have prepared your followers, the . Whether the unit engaging the enemy is in the air, on land, at sea, or in space or cyberspace, it must embrace innovation in logistics that not only integrates new technology, but also innovates in the hybrid environment of old and new in order to retain our militarys true advantage as the worlds only force that can prevail in conflict and preserve peace through strength,31 both today and well into the future. The acquisition, storage, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposal of materiel; Medical services including patient movement, evacuation, and hospitalization for U.S. and partner personnel as well as indigenous personnel affected by operations; Facilities and infrastructure acquisition, construction, use, and disposition; Provision of food, water, and operational hygiene and sanitation support; Operational contract support including contract management; Infrastructure assessment, repairs, and maintenance; Common-user logistics support to other U.S. government entities, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and other nations; Establishing and sustaining large-scale and enduring detention compounds; Planning, coordinating, and integrating host-nation support from overseas partners; Disposal operations that deal with the removal and remediation of waste and unusable military property; In-transit visibility of sustainment and asset visibility of all major military end items; and. 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