This report presents algorithms that monitor the U.S. Army logistics distribution system and automatically detect distribution issues that might affect equipment readiness. To add a qualification at this point I don't count insurgencies or stay behind forces as defensive forces or defensive operations. The third foundation, the morale of his troops, was directly affected by the first two.15 Slims ability to innovate in planning, organizing, and sustaining his logistics enterprise was critical to his logistics success. The NDS requires a military that will be able to strike diverse targets inside adversary air and missile defense networks to destroy mobile power-projection platforms. You simply cannot mount an attack or defence without a functioning logistics system. 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). Fuel, ammunition, food and water, and medical supplies are all critical needs on the front lines. Reverse logistics is an important aspect of supply chain management, like when you order from amazon and need to return your products which can be a process in itself. 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. 4. Military logistics is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of all the critical operations. Without the right equipment, units cannot train to the full complement of their mission sets. The Honorable Alan Estevez, remarks at Marine Corps Association and Foundation 14th Annual Ground Logistics Awards Dinner, Arlington, Virginia, March 22, 2018. Military Logistics Featured Logisticsthe transfer of personnel and materiel from one location to another, as well as the maintenance of that materielis essential for a military to be able to support an ongoing deployment or respond effectively to emergent threats. Logistics is nearly absent from the recent testimonies by military leaders, members of congress, and industry.4 While all of the testimonies highlight the need to modernize the U.S. military in order to regain our technological advantage, few specifically highlight the need for modernized logistics capabilities. 6. Transitioning from large, centralized, unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient, adaptive basing that includes active and passive defenses will also be prioritized.25. The Timelessness and Ever-Changing Nature of Logistics. 3. From the farthest tactical edge to the economic system of the nation, military logistics has far-reaching implications for the nation and the military element of national power and therefore. By late April 2003, more than 150 MSC ships had off-loaded in Kuwaiti ports.21. Lovelace February 27, 2023. It is an important area of supply chain whose effective use can ensure a balance between supply and demand. This trend is very similar across the industrial capacity capabilities that produce aircraft and major land-component warfighting systems. [6] Further, uncertainty permeates operational plans, making it important that military leaders make timely and effective decisions based upon available information. Transitioning Army Logistics Officer, looking to pursue new goals and passions outside of the Military. One such measure is deploying task-organized units, also referred to as provisional units. Experienced Logistician skilled in Logistic Support, Logistics Management, Military Logistics, Inventory Management, and Safeguarding. Prior to World War I, the German Army knew in detail what it would take to deploy the force via railroads to the frontiers. Developments in mechanized, aerial, and amphibious warfare made the logistic support of armed forces vastly more complicated and extensive (Nelson, 1992). 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. The United States Marine Corps has implemented some proactive measures to respond to global events and crises. Effectiveness is ultimately what matters at the tactical edge. 1. Logistics became particularly important for being the backbone of the entire supply chain. In this companion report, researchers identify next steps toward implementing variable cost pricing for selected business lines funded by the Transportation Working Capital Fund. 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. This focus on effectiveness will prioritize the forces critical logistics needs by evaluating all requirements against mission success and differentiating the critical requirements from the multitude of inputs: in essence, providing the nail at the right time and place that prevents having to build a complete inventory of shoes, horses, and riders in order to win the battle.30. They are innovative in thought and practice, with a command and control architecture that is immunized against cyber and electronic warfare threats, and data-driven through predictive analytics. U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Logistics, pp. Is the Defense Acquisition System Postured to Solve National Defense Strategy Operational Problems? 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. The impact of logistics beyond readiness grows exponentially when taken in the context of the larger complexities of strategic logistics capabilities such as national and international highway, rail, port, and sealift capacities. As a result, the logistics enterprise is rarely debated outside the logistics profession with the same intensity as other more publicized warfighting needs, especially the need to regain our military technological advantage over major competitors like China and Russia, are debated. Raison D'etre 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. The U.S. has only 23 designated Strategic Seaports17 commercially operated and six under military controlthat make it possible to sustain overseas forces daily and keep them sustained during wartime. It is therefore important that logistics correctly assess the short-term consumption expected by combat forces; that is, the "here and now", which are essential to facilitate combat readiness and the . Military forces must receive such support regardless of how limited or intermittent their access to the Internet may be, and supporting logistics forces must meet the demand while an enemy is trying to kill the customers, both at home and in the parking lot, and is destroying the delivery fleet at every opportunity. The U.S. military has seven geographic combatant commands set up around the world Europe, Africa, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, South America, North America and even . Consequently, it is far more complex than even the most sophisticated global business enterprises. 26. 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. In the MSC Sealift Program, 106 of 115 ships, including government-owned surge sealift ships, Maritime Administration Ready Reserve Fleet ships, and chartered commercial ships, were carrying equipment and supplies for the Armys 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and V Corps and the Marine Corps I and II Marine Expeditionary Forces. This sets the globe left of conflict and logistically. Strategy, yes. "Clearly, logistics is the hard part of fighting a war." "Gentlemen, the officer who doesn't know his communications and supply as well as his tactics is totally useless." "Bitter experience in war has taught the maxim that the art of war . Nevertheless, changes that positively influence the agility, survivability, responsiveness, and effectiveness of logistics systems can and must be made. The Military Health System needs an agile, resilient, and global network of treatment and storage facilities and transportation assets, as well as knowledge of gaps and risks that could hinder effective medical support for future combat operations. Military 80 Penn State program trains Marines on battlefield logistics DC Velocity DECEMBER 18, 2018 To say the least, the challenges of military logistics are unique. 1021, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/McDew_04-10-18.pdf (accessed May 29, 2018). From the food on your table, through the clothes on your body and all the way to your business product or services. The Future of Combat Casualty Care: Is the Military Health System Ready? Logistics is critical not only to employing the force, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) to building the everyday readiness of the force. This will include capabilities to enhance close combat lethality in complex terrain.24 With regard to mobility and resilience, our military will be required to field ground, air, sea, and space forces that can deploy, survive, operate, maneuver, and regenerate in all domains while under attack. Not Sure if someone was looking for quotes on logistics so I will post a few here. As cyber and electronic warfare capabilities are introduced to the forward edge of the battlespace, individual capabilities represented by on-hand quantities of various technologies and trained personnel will truly define a units ability to execute the mission-essential tasks demanded in the complex warfighting environment of a peer adversary. Equipment readiness is another area of concern. The mix of ships encompassed all four of MSCs programs, and included the U.S. Maritime Administrations Ready Reserve Force, and more than four times the normal daily number of commercial ships. Logistics is perhaps the most complex and interrelated capability provided by todays military. Logistics always over-promises and under delivers. The Military Health System will need to implement a portfolio of mitigation strategies to ensure an agile, resilient, and global network of capabilities and a robust industrial supply base to effectively treat combat casualties in future conflicts. According to one account: In January 2003, MSC began the build-up for what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom. New principles must be embraced to achieve the requirements for successful logistics capabilities in support of operational commanders and the National Defense Strategy. 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). 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. other words joint logistics. The span of that bridge was literally a ship every 72 miles from the US to Kuwait. Imagine further that this must be accomplished against a force that has near-parity with our technological capabilities and the ability to engage us from fixed, friendly facilities with engagement timed on their terms. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The Great Arsenal of Democracy, address delivered December 29, 1940,
For example, Secretary of Defense Mattiss recently announced intention to reduce non-deployable personnel is one aspect of force readiness that is affected by the health services component of logistics.17 Large numbers of non-deployable personnel reduce the available strength of military units, and without the full complement of personnel, teams cannot be trained effectively, whether they are ground units, ships crews, or aviation formations. Once the 2 nd World War finished, enterprises and businesses within the United States took up this word and started implementing it within normal business . ognition of the importance of the logistics system to these ar-mies, attacks on magazines, baggage trains, and lines of . 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. They are delivered from the sea by means of modern connectors, platforms, processes, and concepts with the flexibility to enable multi-domain fires and maneuver. Preparing for the Future of Combat Casualty Care: Opportunities to Refine the Military Health System's Alignment with the National Defense Strategy, Strategic Airlift in Africa: Understanding Challenges and Opportunities for the Movement Coordination Centre Europe. Field Marshal Viscount Slim, Defeat into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 19421945 (New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000), pp. At the same time, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force oilers pumped more than 117 million gallons of fuel to Navy combat ships for bunkering and aircraft fuel. 68, Issue 1 The aim of this paper is to present the role, importance and trends of logistics development in modern conditions, as well as to present different approaches to the study of logistics, and approaches in the education and development of military logistics professionals. The ability to measure effectiveness against efficient performance is critical. Informed commanders. 19. All you can think about . Importance of Military Readiness. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets at the right . The importance of logistics was central to Alexander's plans, indeed his mastery of it allowed him to conduct the longest . Airlift, composed of the Civil Reserve air and cargo fleets19 and thus a critical capability that directly affects our ability to move large portions of our force and their associated sustainment to points of crisis around the globe, is similarly limited. Future logistics command and control systems can ensure agility by operating despite an enemys efforts to disrupt communications through cyber and electronic warfare. The essence of logistics is an integrated approach to all its constituent activities, which reduces costs and increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the logistics system in supporting. 24. logistics , In military science, all the activities of armed-force units in support of combat units, including transport, supply, communications, and medical aid. Secondly, the introduction of complex systems and machines will transform the way militaries will organise. In short, we need to have the ability to autonomously anticipate the needs of the commander, not simply respond faster to bottom-up needs identification. The problem is made worse by the complexity of dealing with both old and new technologies in a single logistics enterprise. Highlights 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. 5. "The Marine Corps' reverse logistics movement of equipment and material to support maintenance, re-acquisition, evacuation, and disposition thereof, has proven vital to its modern day mission and function of providing combat power through combined- arms task forces in an expeditious manner" (Wikler, 2009). By investing time into learning the different types of reverse logistics and the . It is largely self-evident that bringing new technology into military organisations is challenging. Subscribe to the weekly Policy Currents newsletter to receive updates on the issues that matter most. Logistics > PRISM | National Defense University > News. Military Logistics: A Brief History - Logistics is a relatively new word used to describe a very old practice: the supply, movement and maintenance of an armed force both in peacetime and under operational conditions. In coordination with USTRANSCOMs distribution functions, the actions of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as supplier for the military are equally staggering in scope and scale. 31. Of the 141 ships, 127 ships were carrying combat equipment and cargo from the U.S. or Europe into the theater of operations or were en route to load cargo for the operation.20. To remain a vital contributor to military success, logistics must adapt continuously so that it bridges old systems and capabilities while embracing new technologies and concepts. They are more intricate when you have . Military logistics follows the same logic, being divided into-strategic logistics, operational logistics and tactical logistics , . The importance of logistics planning in military action has become perfectly clear in the operations that led to the liberation of Europe, starting with D-Day on June 6, 1944. 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. Supply readiness has been the subject of various testimonies to Congress regarding the readiness of the force on land, in the air, or on the sea. Researchers conducted an analysis of alternatives of interoperability measurement systems to support the U.S. Army in achieving interoperability with partners. There is no option to fail, and there is no hope of unlimited resources. In preparation for combat operations in Iraq, logisticians had six months to deploy the force and its associated sustainment. 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