Since military equipment and supplies must be transported from one place to another, it's hugely important to create a comprehensive, fast and dependable logistics system that would work and deliver the value and results to support defense efforts nationally and internationally. Military readiness is the capability of the military force to meet the requests of their designated assignments or missions. Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms. The ASLP will achieve the goals of that vision by transforming Army logistics from a system based predominately on redundancy of mass to one based on velocity mobility and information. 19. 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. 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 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. Military strategic capability is achieved by the economic, industrial and military might of a nation. To ensure Army readiness, the enterprise will continue to focus on its global logistics reach, which includes boosting Equipment on Hand rates by moving millions of pieces of equipment to the. 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. This situation will strain the systems, processes, and resources intrinsic in military logistics, and exacerbate the friction along the combatants' lines of communications. Researchers identified a new approach, the Army Interoperability Measurement System. The Future of Combat Casualty Care: Is the Military Health System Ready? 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. Because of their logistic importance, fabrication and assembly plants, highway networks, ports and canals became a primary focus. Every military has planned for operations its systems of logistics cannot support. 8. 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. 1021, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/McDew_04-10-18.pdf (accessed May 29, 2018). 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). The span of that bridge was literally a ship every 72 miles from the US to Kuwait. Therefore, understanding its nature is vital to commanders and institutional leaders. Transitioning from large, centralized, unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient, adaptive basing that includes active and passive defenses will also be prioritized.25. 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. Integrating simulators and virtual reality capabilities into range design will also help to reduce the logistical impact of home-station training and generate much-needed efficiencies in major range training opportunities while also improving overall warfighting readiness. logistics , In military science, all the activities of armed-force units in support of combat units, including transport, supply, communications, and medical aid. Patton's logistical experience before assuming command of the Third Army in 1944, examines how logistics successfully contributed to Third Army's 1944-45 campaigns, and suggests appropriate lessons for today's joint logistician. In the modern era, the appreciation of logistics by Admiral Ernest J. The planning done by the German general staff, and the recognition of the importance of railway-based logistics in moving the mobilized reserve, was such that their plans were dubbed, "war by timetable." 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. 20. The future fight will require significantly greater responsiveness and diversity in the face of a greater threat. The role and importance of logistics The growing complexity and diversity of the needs of modern-day armies require supply and logistics efficiency, enabling militaries to achieve national goals. It is the Army's responsibility to position the right assets for the joint force to seize the initiative in large-scale combat operations. Raison D'etre Military units cannot perform their mission without the equipment needed to do so. Reductions in the size and capability of the industrial base, limitations on our national sealift capacity, and aging of the infrastructure needed to move personnel, weapons systems, ammunition, and fuel all directly challenge the ability of the United States to project military power. Technologies such as additive manufacturing, improved manmachine interfaces, and advanced robotics will contribute significantly to improved survivability. [6] Further, uncertainty permeates operational plans, making it important that military leaders make timely and effective decisions based upon available information. The landings in Normandy and the following supply chains had a large influence on the success of the allied operations. 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. Currently slated to graduate in . 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). 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. 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. Fundamentals In the conduct of war, war-making activity behind the cutting edge of combat has always defied simple definition. A logistics management system underpins that effort and includes inbound and outbound transportation management, warehouse management, fleet management, order processing, inventory control, supply and demand forecasting, and managing third-party logistics (3PL) service providers. 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. You simply cannot mount an attack or defence without a functioning logistics system. 2. Logistics, Merriam-Webster.com, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/logistics (accessed May 29, 2018). 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. How do these provisional units currently source personnel and equipment requirements? This report presents algorithms that monitor the U.S. Army logistics distribution system and automatically detect distribution issues that might affect equipment readiness. 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. 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. The operational integration of these various capabilities provides the linkage between the tactical and strategic levels: a means to leverage the Arsenal of Democracy29 in the hands of the men and women who serve in harms way around the globe. We propose interventions that accelerate concurrent development of new operational and logistics concepts. 10. Supply and logistics operations are important for the world's armed forces, fulfilling the needs of fighting and administrative units. 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. Many logistical challenges will remain unchanged in the near future because of the sheer physics of distributing ammunition and bulk liquids and the requirement to move major ground warfighting equipment and personnel. Logistics contributes to cost reduction and efficiency improvement By proactively monitoring inventory levels, Logistics management helps businesses to decrease expenses in a variety of areas, from shipping prices to the amount of storage space required. Three of 25 Special Mission ships were directly supporting Navy combatants with telemetric, hydrographic and acoustic data. Every facet of military logistics must embrace unmanned platforms, from unmanned sea-based ship-to-shore connectors to platforms for the refueling of ships to the use of unmanned platforms for aerial refueling. There is no option to fail, and there is no hope of unlimited resources. RAND has long provided guidance and effective solutions to military supply and logistics decisionmakers, resulting in significant savings, improved readiness and combat support, and unit flexibility. Throughout the past decades, the military helped revolutionize the world of logistics in a myriad of ways. I love these famous logistics quotes! Topic: Logistics Quotes. Logistics. 1. other words joint logistics. "The cost of operating and maintaining a system over its useful life is driven primarily by system design, and reliability and maintainability decisions, which are typically made before production." - Ms. Christine Fox, Former Director, Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation (CAPE) In preparation for combat operations in Iraq, logisticians had six months to deploy the force and its associated sustainment. General Darren W. McDew, U.S. Air Force, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, statement On the State of the Command before the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, April 10, 2018, pp. The manufacturer isn't a logistician and neither is the consumer; and both need the logistics middle man to deliver what they need. This can be done by developing the means to transfer logistics data systems seamlessly from digital-based processes to analog-based processes and back. Before they became RAND researchers, Jonathan Wong and Joslyn Fleming served as U.S. Marines. Mattis, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, p. 1. It is largely self-evident that bringing new technology into military organisations is challenging. 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. Highlights According to one account: In January 2003, MSC began the build-up for what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom. 15. The Air Force needs better access to contractors' technical data to sustain core military aircraft assets and subsystems. Logistics is the foundation for the success of military operations from entry-level training to the most complex operations across the spectrum of conflict. 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. They also coordinated the loading of another 10 MSC ships at Tacoma, Wash., and San Diego, Calif., which resulted in the movement of over 1 million square feet of military equipment for the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and the U.S. Armys 101st Airborne Division. Improvements in logistics effectiveness require improved integrated capabilities and authorities that allow logistics challenges to be resolved at the lowest levels, leveraging shared awareness, and focused on effectiveness. 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. 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 . "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). He was the director of the Military Logistics Program in the RAND Arroyo Center from 2011 to 2016 and has worked extensively in supply chain management, logistics, and data analytics. Future logistics command and control systems can ensure agility by operating despite an enemys efforts to disrupt communications through cyber and electronic warfare. 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. 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. US admits "We're not the clear [technology] leaders that we used to be" Stay on top of the latest RAND research highlights, news, and commentary with the official RAND email newsletter. 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. The end for which a soldier is recruited, clothed, armed, and trained, the whole objective of his sleeping, eating, drinking, and marching is simply that he should fight at the right place and the right time. It also outlines a range of options to deliver global mobility in dynamic threat and policy environments. This requires both technological and training/conceptual change across the force, not exclusively in the logistics enterprise. 31. U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) provides daily examples of what it takes to keep U.S. forces and their sustainment moving around the world. It also outlines a range of options to deliver global mobility in dynamic threat and policy environments. In concert with the diplomatic, information, and economic instruments of national power, the military helps to implement America's national security and defense strategies, 1 but success in. 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. Ultimately, change must ensure both speed and reliability of logistics systems that build trust from the tactical level to the strategic level. Many have written on the challenges of logistics in the 21st century, but Lieutenant General Michael Dana, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Installations and Logistics, has captured the requirement succinctly in his term hybrid logistics, which he defines as the era where old meets new.28 This is a period in logistics operations in which the combination of old and new technology and innovative concepts will provide precise logistics support to a widely distributed force instead of a large logistics footprint that delivers through a central hub. Girardinihas led projects focusing. Engineering support including horizontal and vertical construction of ports, airfields, and other military support infrastructure. 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. 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. The military supply-chain can be divided into three distinct chains, note military logistics experts. 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. 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