Effective Logistics Support in the Face of Peacetime Resource Constraints

In the Uncertainty Project, RAND quantified very substantial levels of variability in peacetime demands for resources, particularly aircraft recoverable spare parts. The unpredictability of peacetime demands is likely to be dramatically compounded in wartime by system disruptions, enemy attacks, and inevitable deviations from peacetime planning as the combat scenario unfolds. In response to this situation, the Air Force developed a new logistics concept of operations (CONOPS) intended to enhance the responsiveness of the logistics system in the face of wartime uncertainties. This briefing Note asserts that the initiatives incorporated in the CONOPS, although originally intended to enhance the responsiveness of the logistics system in wartime, also improve its effectiveness in mitigating resource constraints that may develop in peacetime from budget reductions, temporary loss of repair capability, tardy deliveries of assets from contractors, and many other events that induce asset shortages in peacetime.