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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

Defense Working Capital Fund Pricing in the Defense Finance and Accounting Service: A Useful, but Limited, Tool

RAND researchers consider the advantages and disadvantages of funding the Defense Finance and Accounting Service through a Defense Working Capital Fund versus using direct appropriations.

Feb 16, 2015
Report

Enhancing Army Airborne Forces

U.S. Army airborne forces could play a pivotal role in key missions in the future, particularly against hybrid threats and in anti-access environments. However, they face serious threats that could become more severe. To overcome these new threats, the airborne force will need new capabilities.

Jan 23, 2015
Report

Improving Defense Logistics Agency Supply Chain Agility

The DLA supplies common military items to the armed services and others while seeking to achieve customer service goals and minimize cost. When demand for an item rises unexpectedly, providing effective customer service is challenging, and when demand falls, the DLA can be left with the sunk cost of excess inventory. Continuous attention to supply chain agility is needed.

Jan 5, 2015
Report

What Can the U.S. Army Learn from France's War in Mali?

French Army operations in Mali provide an example of how a technologically sophisticated army organizes and fields an expeditionary force. While the French way of war may not be optimal for U.S. commanders, who have greater resources at their disposal, the Army should still examine it for useful insights.

Oct 17, 2014
Brochure

RAND NSRD Annual Report 2013-2014

Surveys the work of the RAND National Security Research Division from April 2013 through June 2014.

Oct 8, 2014
Report

Balancing Agile Combat Support Manpower to Better Meet the Future Security Environment

Uses an enterprise-oriented approach to assess the capacity of the current agile combat support (ACS) manpower mix to support expeditionary operations and assesses the costs and capacity of several rebalanced mixes.

Jun 26, 2014
Report

DoD Depot-Level Reparable Supply Chain Management: Process Effectiveness and Opportunities for Improvement

Examines Department of Defense depot-level reparable supply chain management to identify the most common reasons for apparent inventory excess and customer support shortfalls and associated process improvement opportunities.

Jun 9, 2014
Report

Prolonged Cycle Times and Schedule Growth in Defense Acquisition: A Literature Review

This report summarizes a selection of the defense acquisition literature from the 1960s to the present on potential sources of prolonged acquisition cycle times and schedule growth, as well as potential opportunities for improvement.

Apr 30, 2014
Brochure

RAND Arroyo Center Annual Report 2013

Describes RAND Arroyo Center's research activities in FY13 and summarizes noteworthy studies performed throughout the year.

Apr 23, 2014
Commentary

The U.S. Army Must Remain Prepared for Battle

Converting the Army into a force suited only for homeland defense or humanitarian missions abroad, without the ability to fight sophisticated foes as part of a joint force, would result in an unprepared Army.

Apr 18, 2014
Report

Methods for Identifying Part Quality Issues and Estimating Their Cost with an Application Using the UH-60

This research report demonstrates how the Army can use readily available demand and end item maintenance history to identify potential issues with repair part or process quality and estimate their associated incremental costs.

Apr 14, 2014
Multimedia

Do Joint Fighter Programs Save Money?

In this March 28th Congressional Briefing, Mark Lorell discusses how the need to accommodate different service requirements into a single jet fighter design or common design family leads to increased program complexity and cost growth.

Mar 28, 2014
Commentary

Should the U.S. Move the Marines to Guam?

The option to permanently base Marines on Guam should hinge on the benefits of the location and the costs. Guam scores poorly on both counts and better options exist. However, previous guidance provided to the Marine Corps constrains consideration of such options.

Feb 28, 2014
Report

Authority to Issue Interoperability Policy

Achieving interoperability among systems is instrumental to enabling critical functions, so it is important to understand what parties have authority to issue policy that governs the facets of interoperability.

Jan 29, 2014
Report

Developing Navy Capability to Recover Forces in Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Hazard Environments

How do you recover and decontaminate amphibious forces if they are attacked with chemical, biological, or radiological weapons while ashore?

Jan 28, 2014
Report

Sourcing and Global Distribution of Medical Supplies

Opportunities exist to gain efficiencies in the global military medical logistics enterprise without sacrificing capability, notably through minimizing intermediate materiel handling, seeking the greatest value from commercial freight, and streamlining warehouse operations.

Jan 28, 2014
Report

Enabling Early Sustainment Decisions: Application to F-35 Depot-Level Maintenance

The U.S. Air Force has long struggled to incorporate new weapon system logistics requirements and support system design considerations into its broader sustainment enterprise early in the acquisition process. RAND developed a framework that helps planners visualize sustainment data and compare new programs with legacy Air Force systems.

Dec 20, 2013
News Release

The End of the Iraq War Offers Lessons for Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Policymakers and military commanders should use the lessons derived from the final years of U.S. involvement in Iraq to inform critical decisions and timelines required to successfully end large-scale military operations, including the one in Afghanistan. However, there is no “one-size-fits-all” template to follow.

Nov 5, 2013
Report

The End of the Iraq War Offers Lessons for Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Policymakers and military commanders should use the lessons derived from the final years of U.S. involvement in Iraq to inform critical decisions and timelines required to successfully end large-scale military operations, including the one in Afghanistan. However, there is no “one-size-fits-all” template to follow.

Nov 5, 2013
Research Brief

Smooth Transitions? Lessons Learned from Transferring U.S. Military Responsibilities to Civilian Authorities in Iraq

An examination of the transition of authority from military hands to civilians in the U.S. and Iraqi governments found lessons that could smooth the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2014 and guide similar transitions in the future.

Nov 5, 2013

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RAND Topic:
Military Logistics

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