War realities call for new approach to logistics.

• Author: Farrell, Lawrence P., Jr.
• Position: President's perspective - Editorial

The "joint" nature of current military operations means that, more than ever, the services must not only bring jointness into their war-fighting concepts and acquisition programs, but also into their logistics operations.

The United States, for decades, has served as the world's model for how to plan and execute military logistics, but it's clear that the growing demands of global deployments and rapid-response operations call for changes in how the nation supports and sustains its forces.

The current logistics apparatus was suited ideally to the battlefields of the Cold War, with more clearly defined frontlines. It does not work as well in battle zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where there are no definite frontlines, where there are non-contiguous operations, and where the logistics force easily can be engaged by the enemy.

One of the major logistics challenges in Iraq, for example, has been the support and sustainment of forces fighting in small units, far away from their bases. It is not enough to ship supplies just to the nearest seaport or airfield. Nor can we solely depend on just-in-time concepts for fast-moving tactical forces. The current scenarios require a logistics infrastructure that can deliver supplies to the "last tactical mile" and communications at the tactical level. Complicating matters further, the truck convoys that deliver those supplies often have borne the brunt of the enemy attacks--in the form of rocker-propelled grenades, road-side bombs and mines.

Although the Army, so far, has experienced most of the logistics problems, this is an area that will require all the services to work together and develop an effective joint concept for combat support operations.

At the recent NDIA Logistics Symposium, in Reno, Nev., senior leaders from the Defense Department, Joint Staff-, and other key government and industry organizations outlined the challenges facing their community. In short, there is an urgent need to improve "end-to-end" distribution of supplies, and do it in a way that does not excessively drive up costs.

In light of logistics problems in Iraq, last year the Defense Department took steps to bring about change. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld directed that the U.S. Transportation Command become the "distribution process owner" for all the military services.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Central Command, TRANSCOM, the Defense Logistics Agency and other organizations, have dispatched a team of experts to...