In preparation for combat operations in Iraq, logisticians had six months to deploy the force and its associated sustainment. In this companion report, researchers identify next steps toward implementing variable cost pricing for selected business lines funded by the Transportation Working Capital Fund. Raison D'etre In the modern era, the appreciation of logistics by Admiral Ernest J. This was enough military cargo to fill the deck space of 58 Nimitz class aircraft carriers. Lacking something as simple as power generation capability on a ship, on the ground, or on an aircraft can prevent a unit from establishing the command and control capabilities that are vital to modern warfighting. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The Great Arsenal of Democracy, address delivered December 29, 1940, It must coordinate with allies and partners to place combined force capabilities against the adversarys weakness and develop and sustain a broad array of overseas advanced bases that will change frequently and provide the responsiveness and effectiveness needed to prevail despite enemy efforts to prevent U.S. forces from getting to or operating within the theater of combat. Transitioning from large, centralized, unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient, adaptive basing that includes active and passive defenses will also be prioritized.25. RAND researchers present a Future Logistics Concept Assessment Framework, which is a disciplined, systematic way to assess proposed future logistics concepts to meet the requirements of the National Defense Strategy. Such facilities must also be made resilient in the face of cyber challenges, now a common feature of modern conflict. Six months may seem a long time, but the volume of activity was immense. The Importance of Military Logistics The Swiss strategist Antoine Henri Jomini defined "logistics" as "the practical art of moving armies." [8] He listed 18 constituent elements of a wide range: "successive arrival of convoys of supplies. Equipment readiness is another area of concern. With a single command, the soldiers needed can be supplied by the drone wherever they are. [6] Further, uncertainty permeates operational plans, making it important that military leaders make timely and effective decisions based upon available information. 2.2 Defense Logistics Agency The Defense Major-General Carl von Clausewitz, On War. The military is also going full steam ahead on hardware acquisitions, but when it comes to Revolution in Military Logistics (RML), most, particularly in the military circles, are in a denial mode. 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 . To add a qualification at this point I don't count insurgencies or stay behind forces as defensive forces or defensive operations. The functions of logistics management for military activities during the peacetime are determinant for the realistic forecasts, computation, estimates, the opportunity of good decisions, the. 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. 26. Every military has planned for operations its systems of logistics cannot support. logistics , In military science, all the activities of armed-force units in support of combat units, including transport, supply, communications, and medical aid. Researchers identified a new approach, the Army Interoperability Measurement System. The same account further reflects that from January 2003 through the end of April 2003, MSC delivered more than 21 million square feet of warfighting equipment and supplies, 260 million gallons of fuel, and 95,000 tons of ammunition to the Persian Gulf area for the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy warfighters involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Twenty-five of 33 Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships were providing combat logistics for the carrier strike groups and amphibious strike groups involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, the concentration on the military mission with regard to effects, while logical from a military perspective, is cause for a gravely misleading perception among civil actors. Boost Business Profitability. These interventions enable logistics capability development for new generations of warfare. New principles must be embraced to achieve the requirements for successful logistics capabilities in support of operational commanders and the National Defense Strategy. 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. 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. 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. All you can think about . 1. 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. Military logistics has been part of the history of mankind and has evolved to become a science of application to different processes of the Operational Forces. 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. 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. It is of vital importance for any military operation and, without it, operations could not be carried out and sustained. 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. Supply and logistics operations are important for the world's armed forces, fulfilling the needs of fighting and administrative units. The most important of these was to guarantee free daily rations for the soldiers, amounting to two pounds of bread or hardtack a day. This situation will strain the systems, processes, and resources intrinsic in military logistics, and exacerbate the friction along the combatants' lines of communications. Before they became RAND researchers, Jonathan Wong and Joslyn Fleming served as U.S. Marines. Its nature is expressed in operational choices and decisions, and is fundamental to military preparedness. "The line between disorder and order lies in logistics". This study identifies the likely changes that will arise in global mobility requirements for UK Armed Forces between now and 2040. other words joint logistics. The term, first used by Henri Jomini, Alfred Thayer Mahan, and others, was adopted by the U.S. military in World War I and gained currency in other nations in World War II. The intention here is to try and bring about a change in outlook on this very important area that is taken for granted. Logistics, the means of strategy and tactics, determines what is practically possible in war. US admits "We're not the clear [technology] leaders that we used to be" /content/admin/rand-header/jcr:content/par/header/reports, /content/admin/rand-header/jcr:content/par/header/blogPosts, /content/admin/rand-header/jcr:content/par/header/multimedia, /content/admin/rand-header/jcr:content/par/header/caseStudies, How China Understands and Assesses Military Balance, Russian Military Operations in Ukraine in 2022 and the Year Ahead, Consequences of the War in Ukraine: A Bleak Outlook for Russia, RAND President and CEO Presenting to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, RAND Experts Discuss the First Year of the Russia-Ukraine War, Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change, Measuring Wellbeing to Help Communities Thrive, Assessing and Articulating the Wider Benefits of Research, Military and Defense-Related Supply Chains, Common Authorized Stockage Lists for the U.S. Army's Brigade Combat Teams, Improving Precommissioning Assignments and Readiness on the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter, Rapidly Detecting and Correcting Degradation of Military Supply Distribution Performance: Algorithms, Visualizations, and Case Studies, The Problem of Intra-Theater Lift: Moving Things Around in the Pacific Area of Responsibility, Assessing the Effectiveness of Future Concepts in the U.S. Air Force: Application to Future Logistics Concepts, Supporting Combat Power Projection Away from Fixed Infrastructure, Retention of Enlisted Maintenance, Logistics, and Munitions Personnel: Analysis and Results, Implementing Variable Cost Pricing in the Transportation Working Capital Fund, A Tradition of Service: Q&A with Two Veterans, Achieving Global Mobility: Future Force Design 2040, Global Mobility: Future Force Design 2040, An Analysis of Alternative Approaches to Measuring Multinational Interoperability: Early Development of the Army Interoperability Measurement System (AIMS). Strategy, yes. . 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. The research findings summarize Patton's career and his exposure to the importance logistics plays in modern war. 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 affects every aspect of organizing, training, equipping, deploying, and employing the force. Friday, June 25, 2021 A supply ship unloads supplies at the Port of Pusan. 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. By late April 2003, more than 150 MSC ships had off-loaded in Kuwaiti ports.21. 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. Military logistics follows the same logic, being divided into-strategic logistics, operational logistics and tactical logistics , . These are far from back office functions and are truly what sustain the force and support its warfighting readiness. MSC normally operates 120 civilian-crewed, non-combatant ships for a variety of missions around the world. 10. It does this with a total wartime personnel capability of 45,945 active-duty soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen; 73,058 Reserve and Guard personnel; and 19,104 DOD civilian personnelnumbers that do not include the significant contributions of USTRANSCOMs commercial partners or the contributions of foreign entities.10. 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. Secondly, the introduction of complex systems and machines will transform the way militaries will organise. Lieutenant General Michael G. Dana, USMC, 21st Century Logistics: Designing and Developing Capabilities, Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 30. 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 . Shipbuilding History, Large Naval Ships and Submarines, http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/navalships.htm (accessed July 27, 2018). Taken together, collaborative services and innovation stress the importance of a vibrant military logistics community that is externally connected. Mattis, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, p. 1. 5. 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. 16. Availability and delivery of parts and spare components, maintenance capability and the capacity to surge increased maintenance volume on short notice, the ability to contract additional support when necessaryall of these logistical elements are essential to military effectiveness. Stay on top of the latest RAND research highlights, news, and commentary with the official RAND email newsletter. There is no option to fail, and there is no hope of unlimited resources. 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. programs offered at an independent public policy research organizationthe RAND Corporation. Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND. 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. 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). In this interview, they discuss what made them want to join the service, what led them to research, and how their military experience guides the work they do at RAND. Improved planning, execution, and online university for military can be of great help for boosting the market. The military supply-chain can be divided into three distinct chains, note military logistics experts. In addition to ensuring that modernized logistics capabilities are appreciated as central to regaining our military advantage, logistics capabilities must be considered in the ongoing discussion of solutions to overcome the current readiness shortfalls of todays military. The Honorable Alan Estevez, remarks at Marine Corps Association and Foundation 14th Annual Ground Logistics Awards Dinner, Arlington, Virginia, March 22, 2018. Mattis, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, p. 6. Logistics is primarily a military term, so the first applications were in military areas. 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. 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. With the coming in of COVID-19, global concerns are rising, and it is necessary to take proper care of everything. Logistics is perhaps the most complex and interrelated capability provided by todays military. The company's dedication to logistics and the military community ensures that soldiers have access to the best coffee possible, even in the most challenging . 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. U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) provides daily examples of what it takes to keep U.S. forces and their sustainment moving around the world. Informed commanders. 1. 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 . It grants broader visibility over the movement of merchandise from construction to consumption, identifying infrastructure and operational practices that help or hinder that smooth, cost-effective distribution. Field Marshal Viscount Slim, Defeat into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 19421945 (New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000), pp. Modernizing home game infrastructure must also include improved, state-of-the-art ranges and maintenance facilities, which are critical to supporting the readiness of new platforms that are being acquired in every service. For this to happen, the U.S. government needs the appropriate license rights and actual possession of the data. Logistics always over-promises and under delivers. While significant force-protection requirements affected the deployment of military capability to Kuwait for combat operations in Iraq, the U.S. and partner-nation forces did not have to fight their way to the fight in Kuwait. Are applicable across the entire U.S. military from the strategic level to the tactical level of conflict... Attacks on magazines, baggage trains, and commentary with the official RAND email newsletter on war USTRANSCOM... 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