Operational Logistics: The Art and Science of Sustaining Military Operations

234 Pages·2016·4.47 MB·English

by  Moshe Kress (auth.)

Management for Professionals
Moshe Kress
Operational
Logistics
The Art and Science of
Sustaining Military Operations
Second Edition
Management for Professionals
More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/10101

Moshe Kress
Operational Logistics
The Art and Science of Sustaining
Military Operations
Second Edition
Moshe Kress
Department of Operations Research
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey , CA , USA
ISSN 2192-8096 ISSN 2192-810X (electronic)
Management for Professionals
ISBN 978-3-319-22673-6 ISBN 978-3-319-22674-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-22674-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015947261
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Pref ace
The term m anagement is seldom used in the context of military operations, yet sev-
eral aspects of modern warfare lend themselves to common management disci-
plines. Information management is needed to control, fi lter, process, and route the
fl ow of data and information to and from the battlefi eld. The role of m anpower
management becomes more important as more specialized personal qualifi cations
and training are needed to operate and maintain advanced weapons. M ovement
management is applied throughout a campaign to accumulate and deploy military
forces. The term m anagement is used occasionally even in combat operations in the
context of fi re control. As more advanced, effective and expensive combat systems
enter the battlefi eld, e ffi ciency must be considered, along with the more traditional
effectiveness objective. Attaining effi ciency depends on good management.
H owever, the broadest, the most complex, and probably the oldest of all the
managerial aspects of warfare is logistics – the m anagement of combat means and
resources . This book is about the management of warfare logistics – planning,
implementing, and controlling processes that sustain military operations.
Before we proceed to describe the scope of this second edition of the book, we
start with a few quotes concerning logistics.
Few Quotes on Logistics…
About 250 years ago Benjamin Franklin composed the following lines, which have
become since a motto for logisticians:
For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost.
This well-known maxim expresses allegorically a chain of events that is so com-
mon in combat situations. A seemingly marginal and local “maintenance” fault ini-
tiates a cascade of events that leads to the ultimate military failure – defeat.
v
vi Preface
A s a response to the plans and instructions of General George Marshall, the US
Chief of staff during WWII, Admiral Ernest J. King – Chief of Naval Operations at
that time – was quoted to say [1]:
I don’t know what the hell this “logistics” is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want
some of it.
Even the light “virtual wink” that may have probably accompanied this state-
ment does not blunt the lack of logistic understanding that is embedded in it. The
message implied from this statement, which is so prevalent to commanders through-
out history, is: “Don’t bother me with this thing that is called logistics, simply make
sure that we have all we need…”
In November 1984 the W ashington Post published an article about the US
National War College. In that article there was also a reference to the Industrial
College of the US Armed Forces. The following is an excerpt from that article.
The [National War] College is supposed to teach strategy to ‘The thinkers’… and the
Industrial College is supposed to teach logistics to the nuts-and-bolts types.
T his citation implies two superfi cial and misguided beliefs: (a) strategy and
logistics are two separate disciplines, and (b) logistics has nothing to do with think-
ing – it is just a collection of technical and dull skills.
F inally, it seems appropriate to cite General Julian Thompson who concluded, at
the end of the preface to his book T he Lifeblood of War [2], that:
I have no reason to believe that logistics will ever have much military sex-appeal, except to
serious soldiers, but this book is written in the hope that I am wrong.
This book has been written with the same hope.
Perception
The historical experience in warfare since the military expeditions of Alexander the
Great to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars teaches us that logistics is an important and
inseparable part of warfare. Logistics facilitates movement, fi re, and sustaining of
the impetus and vitality of combat forces along time and space. Despite this evident
“truth,” some of the quotations above indicate that logistics has been treated as a
second rate subject compared to “pure” tactics and strategy. It is probably the lack
of glamor and, as Thompson describes it, the lack of sex appeal that is associated
with slow moving convoys of trucks – as compared to charging tank columns and
swift infantry operations – that led to this perception.
Also, the misled notion that logistics is low risk (close to 500 supply personnel
and close to 700 maintenance personnel were killed during Israel wars) affected this
perception. Commanders tended to concentrate on maneuvers and fi re, while the
logisticians were supposed to worry about moving supplies, maintaining the equip-
ment, and evacuating the injured. The logisticians were expected not to bother their
chiefs with mundane problems such as stalled convoys, overfl owing maintenance
areas, blown-up ammunition dumps and the like.
Preface vii
H owever, from talking to commanders and military scholars in Israel and the
USA, it seems that this perception is changing. The claims and statements regarding
the central role of logistics in the making of war do not need any more proof or
justifi cation. Exploring the causes for this perceptual leap is beyond the scope of
this book; it may deserve an analysis of its own. We only point out here that techno-
logical changes in the battlefi eld and lessons learned from wars in the past 50
years – lessons that only relatively recently have been studied and analyzed in depth
[3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] – are probably the main reasons for that change.
This change of perception, and the enhanced interest in logistics that this change
may generate, are the main motivation for this book
Literature
T here are three categories of books and monographs on Military Logistics. The fi rst
category comprises historical accounts of wars and military operations, as viewed
from the logistics angle. One of the fi rst books in this category, and probably the
most cited one, is that by Van Creveld [9]. This class of history monographs
provides detailed descriptions of logistics processes and events in past wars, along
with some analyses of these phenomena.
T he second category of logistics literature includes doctrinal publications and
manuals – published mostly by military organizations. The US Field Manuals are
typical examples of this category. These publications include doctrinal principles,
rules and instructions that are designated mainly for commanders and logistics
practitioners.
The third category of logistics publications includes theoretical essays that probe
into the intricate structure and essence of logistics. These monographs attempt to
reveal intrinsic properties, processes, and general rules that govern logistics. Such
essays have appeared in few books and in journals such as M ilitary Review ,
Parameters , and Army Logistician. An important monograph on the theoretical
foundation of logistics is that of Admiral Eccles, [10] which fi rst appeared in 1959.
The link between strategy and logistics is discussed by Brown [11] in an essay from
1987. A more recent book is that by Foxton [12] (1993). This book is an excellent
review of the components, structure, and general doctrinal aspects of contemporary
logistics. Another book of this type is by Sarin [13] (2000).
Objectives
As implied from its title, this book belongs to the third category of logistics texts
and its goal is to explore the theoretical foundations of operational logistics. This
effort has two dimensions. The fi rst dimension applies to the “artistic” or qualitative
aspects of contemporary logistic issues within the context of the operational level of
war. These aspects include principles, imperatives, and tenets, which are stated and
viii Preface
analyzed. The second dimension – the “scientifi c” one – comprises formal represen-
tation, by a network model, of operational logistics.
To the best of my knowledge, this book is a fi rst attempt to bridge the gap between
the artistic and scientifi c aspects of military operational logistics. Specifi cally, the
main thrust of the book is to study – both qualitatively and quantitatively – the inter-
actions between the logistic system in the theater of operations and the principles of
operational level of war.
The book is intended for logisticians, commanders, and military scholars.
Operations research analysts, who are interested in large-scale logistic systems,
may also fi nd interest in the models presented in the last four chapters. Except for
Chap. 1 2 , and parts of Chaps. 9 , 10 and 1 1 , no quantitative background is needed.
F inally, while most of the content in this book is universal and apply to any mili-
tary scenario – aerial, naval, or land operations, the focus is on land operations,
arguably the most complex and challenging logistically.
Book Overview
T his second edition has 12 chapters. Besides refreshing all the chapters from the
fi rst edition, the three major changes are:
• A new chapter on insurgency and counterinsurgency logistics (Chap. 7 ).
• A new chapter on military logistic intervention in humanitarian relief operations
(Chap. 8 ).
• Chapter 1 2 (formerly Chap. 1 0) has been completely rewritten. The model has
been simplifi ed but also modifi ed to account for uncertainties.
Chapter 1 is a general introduction to Logistics. The term logistics is discussed
in its military context and a new general defi nition is proposed by drawing an
analogy between warfare and production systems. The chapter concludes
with a historical review of the three logistic options and a discussion regard-
ing their impact on modern warfare.
Chapter 2 discusses the structure and characteristics of logistics and describes its
three levels – s trategic, operational, and tactical. Basic terminology is
defi ned, which is used in subsequent chapters. Quantitative tools and models
that are utilized for analyzing and planning logistics are reviewed.
Chapter 3 focuses on the main theme of this book – Operational Logistics
( OpLog) . A brief introduction to the operational level of war is followed by a
discussion on the cognitive, functional, and practical aspects of O pLog . Next,
the main functional areas of O pLog are reviewed and O pLog principles are
discussed. We show that the set of principles can be viewed as a union of two
sets of properties – cognitive properties and operational and structural
properties .
Preface ix
Chapter 4 deals with OpLog planning. Following a brief discussion on planning
at the strategic and tactical levels, the main body of the chapter is focused on
the operational level. First, the term r esponsiveness is defi ned and described
by two visual models. Then, the two cycles of logistic planning – the m acro-
logistics cycle and the m icro-logistics cycle – are described and
demonstrated.
Chapter 5 addresses the issue of logistic information. First, we describe the
information needs and then defi ne the logistic information network. The
structure and features of the information fl ow through the network are
described. Finally, various types of logistic information are identifi ed and
analyzed.
Chapter 6 deals with forecasting logistic needs. It discusses battlefi eld uncertain-
ties and their impact on estimating attrition and logistic consumption. It con-
cludes with an outline of a methodology for logistics forecasting.
Chapter 7 is devoted to insurgency and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations.
This type of armed confl icts has been prevalent and drew much attention since
the early 2000s. The chapter discusses special logistic characteristics and
challenges associated with both insurgents and COIN operations.
Chapter 8 is about humanitarian relief operations. The chapter describes the
types of situations that trigger humanitarian aid and the types of responses
applied. It discusses the civilian environment in which O pLog capabilities are
implemented, and the challenges this environment imposes on military
operations.
Chapter 9 introduces a logistic network model. This model is a descriptive-visual
tool that provides an abstract display of logistic deployments and OpLog
operational–structural properties defi ned in C hap. 3 . This model – called
Visual Network (VN) – may be used as a planning aid in the macro-logistics
planning phase described in Chap. 4 .
Chapter 10 addresses one of the most important O pLog properties – F lexibility.
In this chapter, the basic defi nition and brief qualitative discussion given in
Chap. 3 are elaborated further. Quantitative metrics for measuring the two
types of fl exibility – intrinsic and structural – are described.
Chapter 11 discusses two major functions in O pLog practice: F orce accumula-
tion (also called m obilization) and m edical treatment and evacuation . Both
functions are complex and rely on effi cient management of time. Some opti-
mization issues related to these functions are discussed.
Chapter 12 presents an inter-temporal optimization model based on the logistic
network model introduced in C hap. 9. The network optimization model opti-
mizes the deployment of O pLog resources in the theater of operations.
Monterey, CA, USA Moshe Kress