Logistics—the transfer of personnel and materiel from one location to another, as well as the maintenance of that materiel—is essential for a military to be able to support an ongoing deployment or respond effectively to emergent threats. RAND has long provided guidance and effective solutions to military supply and logistics decisionmakers, resulting in significant savings, improved readiness and combat support, and unit flexibility.
REPORT
Nearly all Air Force electronics are tested and repaired using automatic test systems, most of which were designed and built for specific aging weapon systems and are beset by increasing hardware and software obsolescence. The Air Force is planning to modernize these capabilities by rehosting the testing on modern, common families of test equipment. This report focuses on the economic aspect of the rehosting decision.
REPORT
This document examines current supplier relationship management (SRM) practices in the Army, identifies SRM best practices the Army may wish to consider, and focuses on how the Army can gain better performance and reduce total costs by improving its management of and partnering with large defense suppliers.
REPORT
The U.S. Army's two ammunition ports — Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) — have different funding approaches; a central question in this research is what the most appropriate financial structure should be. To help answer this question, the authors develop two variations of an ammunition port funding policy, both featuring customers paying marginal costs for port services.
REPORT
In 2003, the U.S. Army began a process to transform from a division-based to a modular force structure. Congress requested a study of the process and outcomes of the initiative to assess the impact on the Army's capabilities in a range of operations.
REPORT
The ability of U.S. forces to gather, process, and disseminate battlespace information in a networked fashion has given them an advantage in major combat operations. The Army should extend the network to lower echelons; expand it to include host nation, coalition, and other U.S. government partners; and invest more time in developing informal networks.
REPORT
In 2002, the Air Force initiated a program called Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), which seeks to manage relationships with suppliers to reduce the total cost of logistics operations and improve their performance. This report reviews the literature on best practices in SRM, assesses how the Air Force has implemented SRM, and recommends actions, based on lessons from the private sector, that the Air Force could take to improve its…
REPORT
When a weapon system ceases production, the tooling not needed for sustainment that cannot be repurposed must either be disposed of or stored. Storage is not free, but system-specific tooling might become necessary for a restart, and starting from scratch can be expensive, although some tools cost more to store than they are worth. The authors examine these tooling retention issues for the C-17 cargo aircraft.
REPORT
An evaluation of potential logistics applications for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) determines whether they are technically feasible, operationally feasible, and more cost-effective than other options. Six factors are identified that can be used to compare UAS and non-UAS based solutions to logistics tasks.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes the methodology used to develop resource allocation and forward positioning recommendations for the sustainment stock portion of Army pre-positioned stocks, given a specific scenario and budget.
REPORT
Readiness problems associated with newly fielded systems are relevant to both combat effectiveness and public perception. When new equipment comes into the Army, it is often fielded on a unit-by-unit basis, so the "initial" fielding can take many years. This report demonstrates the feasibility of using demands from earlier fieldings to improve push packages as equipment is fielded to successive units.
REPORT
The Army desires a distribution system for home station units that provides timely and low-cost delivery of needed supplies. A critical part of this system is the scheduled truck service provided by the Strategic Distribution Platforms. Although this system is relatively strong, researchers explored ways to improve it by adding new units and posts to the truck network and taking other steps to reduce "leakage" from the truck network.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Examines the desirable and undesirable trade-offs that U.S. Army decisionmakers must make regarding commonality in military equipment.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Examines whether there is a less costly medical distribution structure for U.S. Central Command that would maintain or improve performance.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Discusses how to design a distribution network that takes advantage of the respective strengths of different modes of transportation to meet combatant command needs while minimizing total supply chain costs.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Analyzes how the Army might use a rotational strategy to reduce equipment in early phases of the Army Force Generation cycle, how changes might be applied to units and equipment, and how changes might affect near- and far-term budgets.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Describes a new equipping strategy for the Army's Combat Support Hospitals.
RESEARCH BRIEF
The U.S. Army needs to improve its ability to command and control joint, interagency, and multinational forces in diverse environments, and to prepare Army headquarters to perform as components of, or headquarters for, joint task forces.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Assess the demands placed upon the Army by the continuing deployments of soldiers to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
REPORT
The U.S. Army is under pressure to demonstrate a valid need for heavy brigade combat teams in the future security environment — an environment in which many believe that such units will be largely irrelevant. Through an examination of adversary capabilities in recent conflicts, the author explores whether heavy armored forces can be justified as a prominent component of the future U.S. Army.
REPORT
Using the Battle of Wanat as a case study, the authors explore and evaluate a range of alternative technological and corresponding tactical improvements to help small unit operations in Afghanistan, particularly when the mission is to establish and protect combat outposts. The authors develop a tactical-level understanding of the circumstances and risks that a small unit faced as it transitioned from a vehicle patrol base to a combat…
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