Skip to page content

Military Logistics

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

Analysis of Global Management of Air Force War Reserve Materiel to Support Operations in Contested and Degraded Environments

In this report, RAND researchers evaluate management approaches and global prepositioning strategies for war reserve materiel, which may help mitigate some of the U.S. military's vulnerabilities when operating in a contested environment.

Jan 14, 2021
Report

Developing Operationally Relevant Metrics for Measuring and Tracking Readiness in the U.S. Air Force

The authors developed a new approach to leverage and aggregate authoritative data sources that feed the current readiness reporting system to better measure the ability of Air Combat Command forces to meet scenario demands.

Dec 21, 2020
Report

Trends in U.S. Air Force Aircraft Mishap Rates (1950–2018)

The authors describe trends in U.S. Air Force aircraft mishap rates and assess the impact of such factors as aircraft age on those rates over time.

Nov 30, 2020
Report

The Line Between Disorder and Order: Reflections on RAND's Role in the Evolution of Air Force Logistics Thought and Practice

This report documents the history of the interactions between RAND Corporation logistics researchers and Air Force leaders over more than 40 years to inform decisions involving logistics planning, programming, and budgeting.

Oct 28, 2020
Report

Evaluating Alternative Maintenance Manpower Force Structure Concepts for the F-35A

The authors of this report evaluate the costs and benefits of maintenance manpower force structures in the U.S. Air Force that merge maintenance career fields in different ways, including alternatives that are being explored by the Air Force today.

Sep 3, 2020
Commentary

Japan and Dynamic Force Employment

In April, the United States ended a program that maintained a rotational bomber force to the U.S. territory of Guam. While the removal of a permanent bomber presence in the region has caused some in Japan to worry, U.S. commitment to Japan's defense shows no sign of changing nor does America's deterrent capability.

Jun 23, 2020
Report

A Changing Climate: Exploring the Implications of Climate Change for UK Defence and Security

This study explores the effects of climate change on UK defence and security and proposes a conceptual framework to support the UK Ministry of Defence in assessing and adapting climate change-related risks.

Jun 16, 2020
Report

Russia's Limit of Advance: Analysis of Russian Ground Force Deployment Capabilities and Limitations

Analysis of Russian military capabilities reveals stark limitations in Russia's ability to safely and effectively deploy and sustain ground forces around the world.

May 27, 2020
Report

Russia's Limit of Advance: Scenarios

Russia's ability to deploy military forces around the world is significantly depleted from the Soviet era. This report describes the strengths and weaknesses of Russia's ground force deployment capacity.

May 27, 2020
Report

Building Agile Combat Support Competencies to Enable Evolving Adaptive Basing Concepts

RAND researchers review the motivations for adaptive basing, describe a footprint model used for estimating its implications for Agile Combat Support (ACS), and discuss recommendations for the ACS community and the U.S. Air Force at large.

Apr 16, 2020
Report

Naval Aviation Maintenance System: Analysis of Alternatives

The U.S. Navy's aviation maintenance capability suffers from supportability issues because of its antiquated software architecture and codebase. Would migrating to a commercial off-the-shelf solution help modernize the Navy's afloat and ashore maintenance capabilities?

Mar 9, 2020
Commentary

If U.S. Forces Have to Leave the Philippines, Then What?

If the United States were to lose access to bases in the Philippines, the effects would ripple outward. Maintaining alliances in the Indo-Pacific in all their manifestations is critical—and the details matter.

Feb 28, 2020
Report

New Metrics and Visualizations to Help the Army Reduce Customer Wait Time

To help Army managers manage customer wait time, the authors developed several metrics and visualizations, including the rifle chart and a count of old orders, that use data available in the Army's logistics enterprise system.

Jan 13, 2020
Report

Optimizing Army Medical Materiel Strategy

This report describes how the U.S. Army can optimize its medical materiel strategies for efficient medical equipping readiness.

Oct 30, 2019
Report

Right-Sizing Marine Corps Intermediate Supply Units: A Staffing Model and Proposed Process Improvements

The authors present a methodology to determine optimal personnel capacity for Marine Corps intermediate-level supply accounts and other measures to help these accounts work more effectively and efficiently to meet supported units' needs.

Oct 14, 2019
Report

Improving DoD's Weapon System Support Program: A Critical Readiness Driver Approach

The readiness and sustainability of weapon systems is a key factor in defense. The Weapon System Support Program prioritizes system parts, but performance is lacking. RAND examines program effectiveness and gives recommendations for the future.

Aug 29, 2019
Report

Personnel Recovery in the AFRICOM Area of Responsibility: Cost-Effective Options for Improvement

This report identifies the most cost-effective options for improving medical rescue capabilities in U.S. Africa Command's area of responsibility.

Aug 27, 2019
Report

Approaches to Strategic Sealift Readiness

The authors examine the readiness of the strategic sealift fleet and its management. They determine that many factors can be improved to increase readiness and make recommendations toward that end.

Aug 8, 2019
Report

Future collaboration opportunities for light and medium multirole helicopters in Europe

RAND Europe examined the scope for collaboration between European states in light and medium multirole helicopters throughout their life-cycle (incl. maintenance, procurement, upgrade and R&D), in support of the European Defence Agency (EDA).

Jul 19, 2019
Report

Development of Standardized and Best Practices for the USCG Boats Acquisition Program

This report contains a review of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) boats acquisition program and the programs of similar organizations inside and outside the USCG, possible funding and structural strategies, and recommendations for USCG leadership.

Jun 24, 2019

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

RAND Topic:
Military Logistics

Research conducted by