Global Combat Support Basing

The ability to rapidly deploy forces into austere locations is essential to the global power projection concept of operation. Much of the materiel used by such expeditionary forces does not deploy with the unit but is instead sourced from a global network of prepositioning storage locations, to reduce the transportation requirements associated with the movement of such materiel. Current storage concepts for prepositioned materiel are based on planning assumptions from the Cold War era: that deployment scenarios and their associated support requirements could be fairly well identified in advance and the necessary materiel prepositioned at anticipated deployment sites. This monograph identifies alternative approaches to storing combat support materiel that satisfy the requirements of deploying forces in an expeditionary environment that more closely resembles the current Department of Defense planning guidance, while simultaneously reducing total system costs and increasing robustness in the event of disruptions such as loss of access to a storage site.