Logistics for Leaders

Introduction

Logistics is the ability of the national infrastructure and manufacturing base to equip, support and supply the Armed Forces, the national transportation system to move the forces to be deployed and its ability to resupply that force once they are deployed.

Logistics is the supply, movement and maintenance of an armed force both in peacetime and under operational conditions. In its most comprehensive sense, those aspects of military operations which deal with: design and development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of materiel; movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel; acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, and disposition of facilities; and acquisition or furnishing of services.

Operational readiness totally depends on logistics is a great fact that 90 percent of military operations depend on the logistical support. Certainly there will be a great impact on the operational readiness with the change of logistical plans. One of the reasons for the defeat of the British in the American colonies in 1776 may have been the length of, and time involved in, replenishing the forces from a home base some 3,000 miles away. The same was true in the Russo-Japanese War with a 4,000-mile supply line along a single-track railway. Whilst the distances involved may still be great in today's operational environment, logistic philosophies and systems are being geared to be more responsive in a way that could not have been previously envisioned.

Logistic considerations are generally built in to battle plans at an early stage, for without logistics, the tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, helicopters and aircraft are just numbers on a Table of Organization and Equipment. Logistics that will determine the forces that can be delivered to the theatre of operations, what forces can be supported once there, and what will then be the tempo of operations.

Both Philip and Alexander improved upon the art of logistics in their time.

Logistics at a Glance

NATO strategy, by the late 1980s, was based around the concepts of "flexible response", "forward defence" and "follow on force attack". The key element of NATO strategy was that of "flexible response", and was adopted in 1967, and took over from "massive retaliation".

Warsaw Pact doctrine called for a broad frontal assault while securing massive superiority at a few pre-selected points.

Soviet forces still relied on a relatively streamlined logistic tail as compared to their Western counterparts. The bulk of logistic resources were held at Army and Front level, which could supply two levels down if required. This gave a false indication to the West of the logistic viability of the Soviet division. Thus senior commanders had a great deal of flexibility in deciding who to support and who to abandon and which axis to concentrate on. Soviet priorities for resupply, in order, were ammunition, POL, spares and technical support, food and medical supplies and clothing. They regarded fuel as the greatest challenge, but their rear services could still make maximum use of local resources, be it clothing, food or fuel.

The ending of the Cold War has had profound effects upon the philosophy of, and approach to military logistics. The long held approach of stock-piling of weapons, ammunition and vehicles, at various strategic sites around the expected theatre of operations and in close proximity to the lines of communications was possible when the threat and its axes of attack were known.

Just after the Second World War, the United States provided considerable assistance to Japan. Out of this, the Japanese have become world leaders in management philosophies that bring about the greatest efficiency in production and service. From organizations such as Toyota came the then revolutionary philosophies of Just in Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM). This means a move away from emphasizing functional performance and a consideration of the whole chain of supply as a total process.

The total process view of the supply chain necessary to support commercial business is now being adopted by, and adapted within, the military environment.

The five principles of logistics, accepted by NATO are foresight, economy, flexibility, simplicity and co-operation. They are just as true today as they were in the times of the Assyrians and Romans.

Ultimately a "real knowledge of supply and movement factors must be the basis of every leader's plan; only then can he know how and when to take risks with these factors, and battles and wars are won by taking risks." (Wavell, 1946)