Sustainment operations are a vital part of any military operation. They are defined as the provision of logistics, personnel services, and health service support necessary to maintain operations until successful mission completion. Their importance has been demonstrated in every conflict since nomadic tribes started fighting for territory and the resources that went along with them. Without sustainment operations we do not have ammunition for our weapons, fuel for our vehicles, food, water, parts, and all of the other things necessary to wage war. These operations are not just limited to the logistical aspects of transporting all of these items to where they need to be on the battlefield, which is the aspect that is most visible to those
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First we have the air component which is made up of the Air Force, civilian contractors, and aviation assets from the other branches. They are responsible for air lifting vast quantities of goods in and out of theater as well as then distributing them out to the smaller FOB’s. Next we have the naval component which is compromised of the Navy as well as commercial sailing vessels. This is where the bulk of the goods are transported from one continent to another. From there we move to the over land component. This is comprised largely of civilian contractors who ferry goods by convoy in and out of Afghanistan and then again between FOB’s. All of this movement has to be coordinated with other host nations who allow us to use their ports, airports, roads, and railway systems to move our supplies into the combat zone. One of the biggest of these is Pakistan who the United States pays a lot of money in order to move supplies through their country.
As one can see by a quick non-comprehensive look at the transportation and distribution aspect of sustainment operations it is an enormous endeavor and one I believe we as the United States do exceptionally well. As we look to the future and the increased capacity of our enemies as a hybrid threat sustainment operations will only become more complex as we may find ourselves fighting on multiple fronts. We need to continue to develop our sustainment infrastructure to support these future battles as well as we have in the
First we have the air component which is made up of the Air Force, civilian contractors, and aviation assets from the other branches. They are responsible for air lifting vast quantities of goods in and out of theater as well as then distributing them out to the smaller FOB’s. Next we have the naval component which is compromised of the Navy as well as commercial sailing vessels. This is where the bulk of the goods are transported from one continent to another. From there we move to the over land component. This is comprised largely of civilian contractors who ferry goods by convoy in and out of Afghanistan and then again between FOB’s. All of this movement has to be coordinated with other host nations who allow us to use their ports, airports, roads, and railway systems to move our supplies into the combat zone. One of the biggest of these is Pakistan who the United States pays a lot of money in order to move supplies through their country.
As one can see by a quick non-comprehensive look at the transportation and distribution aspect of sustainment operations it is an enormous endeavor and one I believe we as the United States do exceptionally well. As we look to the future and the increased capacity of our enemies as a hybrid threat sustainment operations will only become more complex as we may find ourselves fighting on multiple fronts. We need to continue to develop our sustainment infrastructure to support these future battles as well as we have in the