Leadership and Logistics: Sustaining the Battle
Leadership and Logistics: Sustaining the Battle
Michael Miles
Excelsior College
Leadership and Logistics: Sustaining the Battle
One of my initial experiences in the Army was deploying to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. During that deployment, I was assigned to the 7th Transportation Group, 24th Transportation Battalion, who was responsible for off loading the merchant marine ships and transportation of goods throughout theater. During my time in Saudi Arabia, I remember hearing how the forward movement of combat troops had to slow down because of the quick pace that they were moving that wasn 't planned for or expected. What was expected was a …show more content…
During this paper, I will explore the logistical decisions that MG Pagonis had to make, by analyzing the situation and his critical thinking skills used to provide General Norman Schwarzkopf with the best fix for the logistical situation on the battlefield.
In an article titled “Sustainment Essentials of the Persian Gulf War” the U.S forces deployment exceeded any previous deployment in U.S. history since World War II. In the duration of just four months, the United States moved approximately 1,000 aircraft, 60 Navy ships, 250,000 tons of supplies and equipment, and 240,000 military personnel over an aerial distance of 7,000 miles and a nautical distance of more than 8,700 miles. Also, the US pre-positioned ships containing the equipment of two Marine expeditionary brigades and 30 days of supplies for the 33,000 Marines who would fly in from the continental United States to provide an initial ground force within 10 days of notice (Kurz, pg 56). The article continues on to state, that during a six month buildup during Operation Desert Shield, the logistics of VII Corps reported operational readiness rates were 92 percent for M1A1 Abrams …show more content…
Major General Pagonis stated that his leadership and the leadership of his staff developing the logistical bases were able to sustain, for the most part, the two Corps that was in the thick of the fight. He goes on to say that , because of these facts, I can conclude that there was no real major delay of sustainability of the forces in Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, or Desert Farewell because of the planning and execution of 22d Support Command and Major General Pagonis. Major General Pagonis was seen as a logistical genius by the way he conducted the sustainability of logistics on the battlefield. In conclusion, my thesis of insufficient logistical support due to speed of troop movements, size of the overall formation, and taking care of too many prisoners of war was only a thought or a rumor that I heard in my formation at the time that I was deployed. The evidence in my research showed the opposite, but that doesn’t mean that there was not a hiccup of the support during the timeframe, but it does show that critical thought went in to determine the most effective route to get
Leadership and Logistics: Sustaining the Battle
Michael Miles
Excelsior College
Leadership and Logistics: Sustaining the Battle
One of my initial experiences in the Army was deploying to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. During that deployment, I was assigned to the 7th Transportation Group, 24th Transportation Battalion, who was responsible for off loading the merchant marine ships and transportation of goods throughout theater. During my time in Saudi Arabia, I remember hearing how the forward movement of combat troops had to slow down because of the quick pace that they were moving that wasn 't planned for or expected. What was expected was a …show more content…
During this paper, I will explore the logistical decisions that MG Pagonis had to make, by analyzing the situation and his critical thinking skills used to provide General Norman Schwarzkopf with the best fix for the logistical situation on the battlefield.
In an article titled “Sustainment Essentials of the Persian Gulf War” the U.S forces deployment exceeded any previous deployment in U.S. history since World War II. In the duration of just four months, the United States moved approximately 1,000 aircraft, 60 Navy ships, 250,000 tons of supplies and equipment, and 240,000 military personnel over an aerial distance of 7,000 miles and a nautical distance of more than 8,700 miles. Also, the US pre-positioned ships containing the equipment of two Marine expeditionary brigades and 30 days of supplies for the 33,000 Marines who would fly in from the continental United States to provide an initial ground force within 10 days of notice (Kurz, pg 56). The article continues on to state, that during a six month buildup during Operation Desert Shield, the logistics of VII Corps reported operational readiness rates were 92 percent for M1A1 Abrams …show more content…
Major General Pagonis stated that his leadership and the leadership of his staff developing the logistical bases were able to sustain, for the most part, the two Corps that was in the thick of the fight. He goes on to say that , because of these facts, I can conclude that there was no real major delay of sustainability of the forces in Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, or Desert Farewell because of the planning and execution of 22d Support Command and Major General Pagonis. Major General Pagonis was seen as a logistical genius by the way he conducted the sustainability of logistics on the battlefield. In conclusion, my thesis of insufficient logistical support due to speed of troop movements, size of the overall formation, and taking care of too many prisoners of war was only a thought or a rumor that I heard in my formation at the time that I was deployed. The evidence in my research showed the opposite, but that doesn’t mean that there was not a hiccup of the support during the timeframe, but it does show that critical thought went in to determine the most effective route to get