When planning operations, military planners always have to take logistics into account. These functions as listed follow generally the levels of war from the strategic to the tactical, though they do not fall definitely within any level. The Honorable Alan Estevez, remarks at Marine Corps Association and Foundation 14th Annual Ground Logistics Awards Dinner, Arlington, Virginia, March 22, 2018. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Of the 42 ships in the Prepositioning Program, 33 were underway or had already off-loaded gear for warfighting forces in the Persian Gulf area. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, DLA at a Glance, http://www.dla.mil/AtaGlance.aspx (accessed May 29, 2018). Defence logistics is a critical element of fighting power because it determines what military forces can be delivered to an operational theatre, the time it will take to deliver that force, the scale and scope of forces that can be supported once there, and the tempo of operations. Success at the operational level requires the integration of logistics capabilities contributed by all entities involved in military affairs, to include service, coalition-partner, interagency, governmental, private/commercial, and host-nation capabilities. Answer (1 of 4): Logistics is vital to any military campaign. The problem is made worse by the complexity of dealing with both old and new technologies in a single logistics enterprise. A nation's military strategic flexibility depends on the ability to perform well these functions of military logistics. Responsiveness can be improved by leveraging industrial-base support from the point of manufacture to the tactical edge forces. Understanding the the Importance of Military Logistics Logistics in the digital age allows for more condition-based, predictive maintenance that will ensure mission readiness. 24. In its simplest form, logistics is important because it is needed to supply raw materials, goods and equipment to both the maker and the consumer. The Prussian and German attacks into France in the Franco-Prussian and First World Wars demonstrate the challenges associated with managing the requisite masses of materiel. 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. 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. Why logistics are too important to be left to the generals The core functions within logistics are supply, maintenance, deployment and distribution, health services, logistic services, engineering, and operational contract support (OCS).7 Logistics includes planning and executing the movement and support of forces as well as those aspects of military operations that deal with: Thus, military logistics defining attributesagility, survivability, responsiveness, and effectivenessare measured by the breadth and depth of these core functions, which affect the military from force generation to training to the readiness of units stationed at home and abroad. This aspect of United States military logistics is most vulnerable given the prospective conflicts of the near future. Furthermore, maneuver leaders who know what logistical capabilities are available can use them to gain a decisive position of advantage against the enemy. Admiral Brewer put these accomplishments into context: The amount of cargo we delivered could fill all 119 Division 1-A college football fields three times over.22 Specifically: From November 2002 to May 2003, nearly 85,000 pieces of cargo and 4,000 containers of ammunition, requiring 16 million square feet of cargo space, were loaded aboard MSC ships under MSC Atlantics operational control. Keeping hundreds of thousands of armed men fuelled, fed and equipped is a Herculean effort. 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. The ability to make the force more survivable requires both technological improvements that reduce the need for large footprints in bulk liquids and ammunition and refocused training and logistics concepts. 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). The U.S. military has not had to fight its way to the fight since World War II. NATO defines logistics as the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces. 13. Military Logistics | RAND Logistics - Supply Chain, Distribution, Logisticians | Britannica Military logistics - Wikipedia The companion report focuses on technical and operational issues. For the U.S. to be able to sustain effective combat operations in the modern era, it must prioritize prepositioned forward stocks and munitions, strategic mobility assets, partner and allied support, as well as non-commercially dependent distributed logistics and maintenance to ensure logistics sustainment while under persistent multi-domain attack.16. 10. 5. This situation will strain the systems, processes, and resources intrinsic in military logistics, and exacerbate the friction along the combatants lines of communications. 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). 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. 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. This has been the general state of affairs for US military logisticians since the South Vietnam Theater demanded the construction of the Cam Ranh Bay port to make up for the inadequacy of the single deepwater port in Saigon. Ultimately, change must ensure both speed and reliability of logistics systems that build trust from the tactical level to the strategic level. 16. The student of military affairs cannot fully appreciate military power if they choose to ignore the tyranny of logistics. If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. 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. The use of unmanned platforms will be critical to the future of agile logistics. If you take a fish from him, you leave him hungry for a day. Citing Russia-Ukraine war, Army chief highlights importance of The authors of this report seek to provide an engaging and structured illustrated narrative to more clearly describe the U.S. Army's role throughout the Indo-Pacific region in the present day and into 2035. At the unit level, this aspect of logistics includes the military's ability to evacuate materiel and personnel for the purposes of maintenance, reconstitution, and medical care. DNA, Oxford Living Dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dna (accessed May 29, 2018). The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. (PDF) The Military Units' Logistic Support Principles The fundamental objective of the military units' logistic system during peacetime is ensuring necessary logistic support for the military personnel to properly carry out the training and. The creation of option contracts that would kick in during surges is one promising solution. logistics - Logistics - Pre-Steam Era Coaling Stations, Naval Bases, and Flying Columns: From early times, the substantial carrying capacity of the warship made it an indispensable element in its own logistic support, particularly in the era before steam power eliminated the problem of covering long distances between ports. When the instability of funding that results from continuing resolutions and an inability to pass budgets on time is added to these challenges, one can see that the problems confronting the industrial base are magnified at a time when they most need to be reduced so that our ability to supply the force is responsive and resilient. A nation's ability to perform these functions relates directly to its military power. Military logistics involves the interaction of military and government entities with private, commercial, foreign, and multinational organizations worldwide. 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). Given the evolution of competitors abilities to threaten the logistical underpinnings of U.S. combat power, force logistics planning now requires innovation in both technology and operational concepts. Logistics. 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. 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). John E. Wissler, Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.). Core logistics functions provide a framework to facilitate integrated decision making, enable effective synchronization and allocation of resources, and optimize joint logistics processes. 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. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines logistics as the aspect of military science dealing with the procurement, maintenance, and transportation of military materiel, facilities, and personnel.2 The Joint Chiefs of Staffs Logistics elaborates on this definition and quotes Rear Admiral Henry E. Eccless 1959 statement that Logistics is the bridge between the economy of the Nation and the tactical operations of its combat forces. This report, one of two, focuses on whether partners and allies have the willingness to support U.S. operations in a major Indo-Pacific conflict. Managing logistics is extremely crucial as it helps the organisations to gain deep insights of the supply chain. Logistics, Merriam-Webster.com, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/logistics (accessed May 29, 2018). This simple two-sentence statement effectively captures both the complexity and far-reaching implications of military logistics. Logistics is an elemental component of all military operations; it is not only a major function unto itself, but also a vital consideration in every other aspect. During fiscal year (FY) 2017, DLA provided more than $35 billion in goods and services, coordinating the actions of 25,000 military, civilian, and contract personnel who provided food, clothing, fuel, repair parts, and other items across nine supply chains distributing approximately 5 million distinct consumable, expendable, and reparable items. 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. Military and Defense-Related Supply Chains | RAND While 10 percent of the cargo was delivered by other means, primarily aircraft, understanding the magnitude and significance of sea-based sustainment is critical to understanding what it takes to deploy and employ the U.S. military. In the modern era, the appreciation of logistics by Admiral Ernest J. -Walter Bedell Smith, Although many of industrys best practices and technologies are relevant and even vital to the modernization of military logistics, the agility, survivability, responsiveness, and effectiveness of military logistics require another level of integrated innovation in technology and operational concepts. 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. Bryan Boling (he/him) is an engineer with extensive experience in military logistics, energy and water technologies, modeling and simulation, and other forms of predictive analytics. 28. Most importantly, the assurance of robust medical care for service members, especially if they are wounded in combat, engenders morale in the force, and assuages fears on the homefront. Politics. Obviously then, the logistics system must be in harmony, both with the economic system of the Nation and with the tactical concepts and environment of the combat forces.3. The Four Logistics Dilemmas Awaiting the Army on the Modern Battlefield The tasks associated with generating, transporting, sustaining, and redeploying or reallocating military forces extend through the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war, and across the Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational domains. Port facilities capable of handling critical munitions movements are critical to force deployment and sustainment. Understanding the links between climate and readiness can help the U.S. military ensure that forces are able to reliably and affordably sustain readiness in a changing climate. Naval Supply Systems Command, Logistics Quotations, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/log_quotes_navsup.pdf (accessed May 30, 2018). Referring to the Russia-Ukraine war at Army Logistics Conference, he said, "While the war shows little signs of ebbing, there are important lessons for those concerned with [] The military withdrawal from Iraq in 2010 was vastly different from the First Gulf War's Operation Desert Farewell. Military Logistics is the processes, resources, and systems involved in generating, transporting, sustaining, and redeploying or reallocating materiel and personnel. In assessing the true value of logistics, however, one needs to distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness, even though the former certainly affects the latter. Upon this foundation, leaders should develop knowledge of doctrine and some theoretical concepts related to supply and distribution. Lieutenant General Michael G. Dana, USMC, 21st Century Logistics: Designing and Developing Capabilities, Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. The initial supply and demand shocks caused by the pandemic were followed by an import surge as suppliers tried to replenish inventories, which threw normal transportation operations. It should be noted, however, that in the years since these tremendous accomplishments, the size of the force available to execute these missions has shrunk considerably. Core Logistics Functions Core logistics functions are considered during the employment of US military forces. 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 two concepts are linked in that strategic . (Oar-driven warships, such as the Greek trireme, sacrificed this . 8. Logistics > PRISM | National Defense University > News RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Additionally, U.S. and partner-nation forces had significant time to deploy military capability, ultimately using a single point of entry with mature facilities and infrastructure and Internet access. Add to these challenges the reduction of skilled manpower in the active and reserve forces, the increased difficulty of retaining seasoned military personnel, and a decreasing number of civilian and contractor artisans in the logistics workforce, and the need for modernizing the logistics force, from training to developing new concepts, becomes even more obvious. According to one account: In January 2003, MSC began the build-up for what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, two of the three Maritime Prepositioning squadrons supporting the U.S. Marine Corps were unloaded at the Ash Shuayba Port in Kuwait. You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics. This report details a logistics game design that is flexible enough to accommodate a variety of scenarios, objectives, and modifications. Furthermore, their execution spans the Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multi-National domains. In . 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. PDF Logistics - Its Role, Significance and Approaches Foremost, the infrastructure of potential theaters of operation will likely be austere and present challenges to the logisticians as they attempt to establish supply and distribution networks. Consequently, it is far more complex than even the most sophisticated global business enterprises. Mattis, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, p. 1. On deeper inspection, however, the differences are profound. The United States' last five decades of experience with modern warfare has proven how ambiguous and difficult conflict termination can be. James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America: Sharpening the American Militarys Competitive Edge, U.S. Department of Defense, p. 7, https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf (accessed May 29, 2018). logistics, in business, the organized movement of materials and, sometimes, people.The term was first associated with the military but gradually spread to cover business activities.