Critical Thinking: New Marine Corps Logistics Doctrine Emphasizes Resiliency.

• Author: Heckmann, Laura

Logistics is a concept as old as warfare, but new technologies and the threat of peer competition have prompted the Marine Corps to rethink and rewrite a doctrine untouched for 26 years.

Published in March 2023 by the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps' update of the 1997 Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 4, Logistics places the "time-tested, combat-proven principles outlined in the previous version in an updated war-fighting context," the document read.

While much of the nearly 150-page logistics doctrine echoes the foundational principles of its predecessor, the foreword by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger placed contested logistics front and center.

"This publication describes the role of logistics in a globally contested environment, within multiple domains, across the competition continuum," he wrote. "Marines must be able to operate when logistics is contested, which requires us to consider logistics opportunities and limitations in both force and operational planning."

The doctrine is not designed to address specific techniques or procedures, nor intended as a reference manual, the document stated. At its core, it is a conceptual framework for understanding the role logistics plays in military operation, laid out in principles, philosophies, vignettes and quotations from military minds past and present.

"The more Marines understand how their needs are met by a complex network of systems and relationships, the better they will be at creating realistic plans, generating requirements, and using the network to build, position and sustain the force," Berger said.

In addition to the contested logistics environment, two other factors led to the revision of the doctrine: addressing the emergence of the information age and building a more resilient Marine, according to Marine Corps Col. Aaron Angell, executive assistant to the deputy commandant for installations and logistics.

Angell described contested logistics as an "all-domain global contest, every day." Previously, the Marine Corps focused on the challenge of logistics, "and that last tactical mile," he said. "How do you get the ammunition, food and water to that fighting Marine up on the front lines from just a few miles back?"

Today, contested logistics extends clear back to the defense industrial base, "manufacturing munitions back here in the United States and other parts of the globe," he said in an interview.

"When you think about contested logistics and what that...