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. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets at the right . Major-General Carl von Clausewitz, On War. In this report, the authors explore whether individual characteristics, economic and geographic factors, and the new Blended Retirement System can provide new insights into what predicts retention of maintenance, logistics, and munitions personnel. Having better-trained commanders is a force multiplier. On deeper inspection, however, the differences are profound. The best example of a military outrunning its supply lines are the German experiences in both World Wars. It must be able to dictate the time and tempo of its buildup and control the massive capabilities of the U.S. military. The number of ships expanded to about 214 in mid-March as additional ships were activated from reduced operating status or chartered for the commands support of U.S. forces in OIF.23, While the immensity of this undertaking is staggering, it pales in comparison to the requirement laid out for the future military force in the National Defense Strategy (NDS). Data Rights Relevant to Weapon Systems in Air Force Special Operations Command, Strategic Airlift in Africa: Understanding Challenges and Opportunities for the Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) and Member Nations. Personnel readiness is also affected by other logistics-related issues such as the lack of training throughput caused by insufficient, inadequate, or nonfunctional training facilities or the disruption caused by manpower transitions across the force that limit the availability of ready personnel. 4. Mathematical optimization of a common, periodically updated authorized stockage list for each of the U.S. Army's three types of ground brigade combat teams provides improved performance in support of equipment readiness and reduced transition costs. U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Warfare Systems) (N9), Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2019, February 2018, p. 3, https://news.usni.org/2018/02/12/fy-2019-u-s-navy-30-year-shipbuilding-plan (accessed May 29, 2018). Perhaps not so obvious is the interconnectedness of supply readiness to all other aspects of unit readiness. Logistics is critical not only to employing the force, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) to building the everyday readiness of the force. 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. It should be noted that the current shipbuilding plan projects 11 more battle force ships than were projected in the 2017 plan. 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 > PRISM | National Defense University > News. 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. Prior to World War I, the German Army knew in detail what it would take to deploy the force via railroads to the frontiers. 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. Future logistics command and control systems can ensure agility by operating despite an enemys efforts to disrupt communications through cyber and electronic warfare. Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), p. 95. It's impossible to overstate the benefits of business logistics systems or the importance of distribution logistics. 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. While procurement is not exclusively a function of logistics, the countrys industrial capacity affects the availability of spare parts, the availability of technical support for contract maintenance, and the ability to replace warfighting platforms that are well beyond their service life, be they ships, aircraft, or major land-component systems (tanks, artillery, reconnaissance vehicles, personnel carriers, radars, ground vehicles, etc.). 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. It is often termed "the Forgotten War" in the United States. The military supply-chain can be divided into three distinct chains, note military logistics experts. It would require a substantial expansion of the defense industrial base, but it might offer a plausible way to keep American objectives and resources in line without sacrificing too much in either. Alan Estevez, former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and a career Department of Defense Senior Executive Service logistics leader, recently stated, Logistics isnt rocket scienceits much harder!5 Logistics is fundamental to the readiness of the entire Joint forcethose at home, deployed in operational settings, and permanently stationed abroadgiven that it must operate around the world and across every domain of activity in spite of enemy efforts to frustrate its operations. Consequently, it is far more complex than even the most sophisticated global business enterprises. Logistics is critical to success on the battlefield. Strong operations professional with a Master of Science - MS focused in Human Resources Management & Development (CIPD) from The University of Salford. 8. In the modern era, the appreciation of logistics by Admiral Ernest J. 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. Boost Business Profitability. . 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. Its nature is expressed in operational choices and decisions, and is fundamental to military preparedness. Researchers conducted an analysis of alternatives of interoperability measurement systems to support the U.S. Army in achieving interoperability with partners. 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. During the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, MSC had 167 of its 214 active ships directly supporting the war. Additionally, two of the three Maritime Prepositioning squadrons supporting the U.S. Marine Corps were unloaded at the Ash Shuayba Port in Kuwait. 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. The importance of the global commons reigns supreme. 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). 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. Stay on top of the latest RAND research highlights, news, and commentary with the official RAND email newsletter. 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. From the food on your table, through the clothes on your body and all the way to your business product or services. 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. "The mechanics of the processes are often similar, but the shipping requirements are often different. Research has recognized supply chain as an important source of competitive advantage. 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. Importance of Military Readiness. The ability to meet the NDS requirements requires a significantly more agile force. The role and importance of logistics 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. Such facilities must also be made resilient in the face of cyber challenges, now a common feature of modern conflict. . 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 . 13. Topic: Logistics Quotes. 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. Having greater logistics capability than the enemy is a force multiplier. 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. Nevertheless, changes that positively influence the agility, survivability, responsiveness, and effectiveness of logistics systems can and must be made. Engineering support including horizontal and vertical construction of ports, airfields, and other military support infrastructure. 15. Supply and logistics operations are important for the world's armed forces, fulfilling the needs of fighting and administrative units. 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. 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. Friday, June 25, 2021 A supply ship unloads supplies at the Port of Pusan. Widespread military use for the word logistics came during the Second World War when countries realized how important it was to maintain the flow of arsenal to the infantry on the ground. The authors propose assessing the defense acquisition system's ability to overcome the operational problems outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, discuss why the approach is valuable, and suggest next steps. The military transport drone, called the Joint Tactical Air Vehicle or JTARV and developed at the Army Research Laboratory, is compared to the "Amazon on the battlefield". An important factor against integrated logistics is the experience in Iraq where the lapse in logistic doctrine of US revealed a One chain, fast but low volume, moves commodities like food, medicine and clothing - the . 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. This trend is very similar across the industrial capacity capabilities that produce aircraft and major land-component warfighting systems. In this companion report, researchers identify next steps toward implementing variable cost pricing for selected business lines funded by the Transportation Working Capital Fund. Logistics MCDP 4 40. 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. Hello Class. You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics. COURIER, 2020, Vol. Therefore, to ensure military readiness, it is important to evaluate . The shrinking militaryindustrial base that provides the wherewithal of national power faces significant challenges because of unpredictable budgets and inconsistent program funding. One such measure is deploying task-organized units, also referred to as provisional units. 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. U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) provides daily examples of what it takes to keep U.S. forces and their sustainment moving around the world. 1. King, Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II, is equally telling: I dont know what the hell this logistics is that [General George C.] Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.14 Similarly, in his timeless treatise on warfighting, Defeat into Victory, British Field Marshal Viscount Slim commented that building his theaters logistical infrastructure and supply reserves and maintaining his armys health were two of the three foundations of victory in his campaign in Burma and India. Read this work not for its focus on the sea but for its focus on national power. 28. To say the least, the challenges of military logistics are unique. Fact Sheet, Civil Reserve Air Fleet, U.S. Air Force, July 28, 2014, http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104583/civil-reserve-air-fleet/ (accessed May 29, 2018). The quotes are all related to war because logistics was practically invented by the military. The problem is made worse by the complexity of dealing with both old and new technologies in a single logistics enterprise. Subscribe to the weekly Policy Currents newsletter to receive updates on the issues that matter most. This sets the globe left of conflict and logistically. By investing time into learning the different types of reverse logistics and the . 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. The ability of the system to support the joint force in the event of major conflict is at best untested and could be problematic. The most important of these was to guarantee free daily rations for the soldiers, amounting to two pounds of bread or hardtack a day. 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. 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). ognition of the importance of the logistics system to these ar-mies, attacks on magazines, baggage trains, and lines of . 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 . MSC normally operates 120 civilian-crewed, non-combatant ships for a variety of missions around the world. 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. 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. Now imagine doing this in an environment devoid of modern infrastructure in a manner that defeats an adversarys desire to prevent our use of air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace to project military power, all in consonance within the complex interrelationships and intricacies that support current collective defense arrangements. 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. In Clausewitzs words, getting the force to the fight at the right place and the right time1 is the true essence of military logistics. 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. 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. forces initiated the deployment with Military Sealift Command (MSC), a USTRANSCOM subordinate command, prepositioning assets moving to Kuwait beginning in October 2002, with the off-load of increased military capability beginning in earnest in January 2003 and wrapping up in April 2003, completing the six-month force buildup. "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). For this to happen, the U.S. government needs the appropriate license rights and actual possession of the data. 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