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Military Logistics

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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
Russian Failures in the Ukraine Conflict as of January 2023
Why has the Russian invasion of Ukraine stumbled so significantly? Moscow's struggles can be partly attributed to poor planning, logistical issues, and sustainment challenges facing the Russian armed forces.
Jul 11, 2023
Commentary
So Many Questions, So Little Time for Pacific Logistics
The United States has been struggling to “pivot to the Pacific” for over a decade, and one of the major missing pieces is logistics. It is critical that the logistics underpinning a credible military deterrent be figured out now.
Jun 23, 2023

Explore Military Logistics

Commentary
Creating the Uncrewed-Centric Navy of the Mid–21st Century
The emergence of uncrewed technologies in all domains can enable the Navy to achieve greater capacity and operate in harm's way by avoiding over-concentration of combat power in too few assets. There is a need for relentlessly committed leadership that aims for an uncrewed-centric navy by mid-century, while integrating new and legacy assets to manage the long, gradual transition.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Logistics and Sustainment Issues of the Russian Armed Forces
Failures in the Russian logistics and maintenance system have been identified as a key factor in Russia's underperformance in Ukraine in 2022. A review of dozens of unclassified documents and articles provides insights into Russia's military problems before and in the early stages of its invasion.
Nov 15, 2023
News Release
U.S. Armed Forces Capabilities in Arctic Region Pose National Security Risks, Need Strengthening
The United States needs to strengthen its ability to protect its Arctic interests as the region becomes a more active security environment. Key areas for improvement include communications, infrastructure, training, equipment, tactics and the ability to scale presence.
Nov 1, 2023
Report
Arctic Capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces
The United States has considerable interests in the Arctic and is one of just eight countries with territory in the region. How do U.S. armed forces' capabilities differ from those of other countries operating there, including Russia, China, and allies?
Nov 1, 2023
Commentary
China Ponders Russia's Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War
Any attempt by China to use military force to seize Taiwan would be an immense logistical undertaking requiring moving large quantities of troops and materiel across the Taiwan Strait. What then, are Chinese observers learning from the logistical realm of the war in Ukraine?
Aug 28, 2023
Report
The Training Needs of the Aircrew Flight Equipment Career Field: Insights from a Survey of Airmen
The work of aircrew flight equipment (AFE) personnel is vital to the safety of the aircrews in the U.S. Air Force. The authors surveyed AFE personnel to help the career field justify specific changes to training and personnel management policies.
Aug 10, 2023
Commentary
The Problem of Surge Capacity
The vulnerability of supply chains to routine disruptions has been widely discussed and documented, but meeting such challenges can be even more difficult during unexpected surges in demand caused by wars, public health crises, or other emergencies. The creation of option contracts that would kick in during surges is one promising solution.
Jul 10, 2023
Report
How Does Climate Change Affect Force Readiness?
Droughts, flooding, wildfires, and tropical storms are likely to become more severe as global temperatures rise. Understanding the links between climate and readiness can help the U.S. military ensure that forces are able to reliably and affordably sustain readiness in a changing climate.
May 24, 2023
Report
Advancing Combat Support to Sustain Agile Combat Employment Concepts: Integrating Global, Theater, and Unit Capabilities to Improve Support to a High-End Fight
This report presents a framework to assess necessary elements of the combat support enterprise — including base, theater, and global resources — for operating in a hybrid push-pull system as a means to mitigate uncertainty and adversary actions.
May 23, 2023
Brochure
Improving Combat Support Analyses to Better Inform Decisionmaking: Insights from RAND Research
This portfolio of combat support analyses conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE highlights examples of enterprise-wide analyses, vulnerability and resilience analyses, and resource allocation analyses in support of U.S. Air Force decisionmaking.
May 22, 2023
Report
U.S. Major Combat Operations in the Indo-Pacific: Partner and Ally Views
This report, one of two, focuses on whether partners and allies have the willingness to support U.S. operations in a major Indo-Pacific conflict. The companion report focuses on technical and operational issues.
May 16, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
Report
The Backbone of U.S. Joint Operations: Army Roles in the Indo-Pacific
The authors of this report seek to provide an engaging and structured illustrated narrative to more clearly describe the U.S. Army's role throughout the Indo-Pacific region in the present day and into 2035.
May 5, 2023
Report
Network Logistics Games: Design and Implementation
This report details a logistics game design that is flexible enough to accommodate a variety of scenarios, objectives, and modifications.
Apr 19, 2023
Report
Opportunities and Risks of 5G Military Use in Europe
The authors consider U.S. military uses of the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular communications in a notional 2030 time frame, concentrating on a future smart logistics mission in the Baltics and surrounding countries.
Mar 23, 2023
Report
Common Authorized Stockage Lists for the U.S. Army's Brigade Combat Teams
Mathematical optimization of a common, periodically updated authorized stockage list for each of the U.S. Army's three types of ground brigade combat teams provides improved performance in support of equipment readiness and reduced transition costs.
Jan 19, 2023
Commentary
Ukraine and the New Two War Construct
The United States might look at its support of Ukraine as a potential model for future defense strategy. It would require a substantial expansion of the defense industrial base, but it might offer a plausible way to keep American objectives and resources in line without sacrificing too much in either.
Jan 5, 2023
Report
Improving Precommissioning Assignments and Readiness on the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter
Researchers identified approaches the U.S. Coast Guard could take to improve crew satisfaction with precommissioning assignments on offshore patrol cutters and overall fleet readiness, then evaluated the options using five criteria.
Dec 13, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Military Logistics

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Brent Thomas

Adjunct Operations Researcher

Brent Thomas is an optimization specialist whose analysis focuses on improving the quality of the U.S. military's casualty care in austere and contested operating conditions. More broadly, Thomas' work focuses on evaluating policy options for shaping expeditionary medical care and base…
Fabian Villalobos

Engineer

Fabian E. Villalobos (he/him/his) is an engineer at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He manages RAND's Engineering and Applied Sciences Speaker Seminar Series. Villalobos has an interest in the intersection of technology, economics, and geopolitics and…

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