Importance of Sustainment and Transportation in the Military

The aggressive approach is changing dramatically in response to significant global, political, and financial turbulences.  The Army of today will face a greater complicated world.  The dynamics of this new environment are compound with the massive availability of enhance technology in unique Information Technology.  Sustainment plays a crucial role in organization success; it provides capabilities, and the provision of personnel, logistic, and different support required.  It preserves and maintains operations until the mission is accomplish.  Essentially transportation is as equally important.  It provides the means through which the sustainment requirements and transported.  This paper will explain four principles of sustainment and two roles of any two of the transportation component commands advantages and disadvantages in their support of the combatant commander.  Sustainment and transportation are essential elements in mission success.  The emphasis of timely availability of both sustainment and transportation in all facets of warfighting theater must continually be highlight.

Anticipation

Sustainment anticipation is the viable to foresee operational necessities and provoke vital moves that most fulfill a response barring ready for operations orders or.  It is usual professional judgment resulting from experience, knowledge, education, intelligence, and intuition.  Commanders and staffs ought to understand and visualize future operations and identify exceptional required support.  They ought to start the process of acquiring the sources and capabilities that notable assist the operation (Department of the Army, 2012).  During the planning of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, consideration, and planning being done for stability operations because of previous experiences, knowledge, and intelligence; thus providing for additional equipment, food water human resources and other services were plan for to sustain the stability operations (Department of State, 2017).

Economy

A commander effectively employs assets in the most effective way possible.  It is the executing of efficient management, discipline, prioritization, and allocation of resources.  This sustainment principle can further executed by eliminating redundancies and capitalizing on joint interdependencies.  Disciplined sustainment assures the most significant feasible tactical staying power and constitutes to benefit commander's use of host kingdom resources that limit or dispose of the use of limited army resources (Department of the Army, 2012).  During the second week of the crisis, in Haiti at the request of the United States Air Force (USAF), the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) deployed their aviation administration personnel.  They provided supervision on the humanitarian efforts, which allows order.  Also, besides the employment of those humanitarian administrators to strategic locations, allow the commander on the ground the freedom of establishing control of the host nation airport in or for humanitarian aids and supply to be imported (Whiting 2012).

Continuity

Continuity is the uninterrupted provision of sustainment throughout all tiers of war.  Continuity has been achieve through a machine of integrated and targeted networks linking sustainment to operations.  Continuity maintains utilizes joint interdependence, linked sustainment organizations, a strategic, tactical degree distribution system, and integrated facts systems.  Continuity assures self-belief in sustainment, permitting the commander’s freedom of action, operational reach, and endurance (Department of the Army, 2012).  The defeat of the Iraqi military forces in Operations Desert Storm resulted in a tremendous humanitarian crisis.  It resulted in the birth of Operation Provide Comfort.  The 10th Special Forces were in the location of refugee camps, with the task of coordination food and resupply with the responsibility of establishing the administration of the camps and the provision of medical supplies.  To achieve the desired outcome, they established secure helicopter landing zones for resupplies and providing hundreds of refugees with the relevant aids and assistance.  This process forms the genesis of the stability operations camps (Friberg, 2016).      

Responsiveness

Responsiveness is the functionality to react to altering necessities and respond to meet the needs to preserve support.  It is imparting the perfect assist in the right place at the acceptable time.  It is the ability to anticipate operational requirements.  Responsiveness involves identifying, accumulating, and maintaining enough resources, capabilities, and information essential to meet rapidly changing requirements.  Through responsive sustainment, commanders keep operational tempo, pressure, and lengthen operational reach (Department of the Army, 2012).  The Army recognized a need for a logistics system that catered to the needs of all of its units.  To achieve this automation, they decided on implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning application that will address their needs in the areas of logistics automation.  This initiative was necessary because of the uneven progress encountered in the area of logistics and the challenges it posed to the leaders.  The implementation of a software to manage this process resulted in the automation of the manual supply system, at various unit levels of the military.  This process improved the business processes by addressing historical challenges and gaps as well as achieves standardization (Ocasio, 2007).

The Air Mobility Command

Air Mobility Command's mission is to furnish rapid, international mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces.  The command additionally performs a necessary function in imparting humanitarian help at domestic and around the world.  Airlift more often transports light, high precedence forces, and supplies together with personnel and tools required for quick deployment with prepositioning elements’ equipment and supplies (Department of the Defense, 2017).  

Advantages and Disadvantages of Air Mobile Command

According to Department of Defense (2005), the advantages of air mobility are its capability to “Rapidly deploy light combat and supporting units and flexibility direct delivery capability to the warfighter, from factory to foxhole” (p. 1-2).  The disadvantages of this capability, according to Department of the Army (2005), are the “limited delivery capacity and air space-dependent, may require overflight rights dependent on availability of airfields, and requires the cooperation of foreign governments” (p. 1-2).  In January of 2010, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake leaving over two hundred thousand killed and millions displaced.  With the destruction of the seaport, the only other means of transportation for assistance and aid was by air.  The Toussaint Louverture International Airport (MTPP) in the center of the capital, Port au Prince, was still in good condition; hence, the airport being used by the U.S Air Force Special Tactical Team and other International agencies to transport aids and supplies (Whiting 2012).

Military Sealift Command

The Sealift command safely operates, supplies, and continues the ships that provide logistics support, behavior one-of-a-kind missions, cross navy equipment, furnish fighting forces, provide humanitarian relief, and strategically characteristic combat cargo around the world (Department of the Defense, 2017).     

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sealift Command   

According to the Department of Defense (2005), the advantages of the Sealift command are its capability to “Sustained delivery of heavy combat and supporting units and their sustainment Flexibility of employment" (p.1-2).  While the disadvantages, according to Department of the Army (2005), "Seaport dependent less afloat Prepositioning Force Speed Sea lane dependent and are slow with delivery” (p.1-2).  On 11th October 1994, the United States Command used the USS Harlan County to dispatch over 200 Multinational Forces and agencies to Haiti to conduct Operation Uphold Democracy.  Because of the hostility at the seaport in Haiti, the ship had to returns to the United States (Department of State, 2017).

Conclusion

Sustainment and transportation are essential elements in mission success.  The importance of timely availability of both sustainment and transportation in all facets of warfighting theater must continuously be of emphasis.  Having these essential elements at the right place at the right time gives the commander the advantage of operation reach.  It also provides for future planning and extended mission.

References

• Whiting, M. C. (2012). Military and humanitarian cooperation in air operations in Haiti. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://odihpn.org/magazine/military-and-humanitarian-cooperation-in-air-operations-in-haiti/.
• Department of  State (2017). Intervention in Haiti, 1994–1995. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/haiti.
• Department of the Army (2012).  ADRP4-0 Sustainment (Vol. 4-0).  Retrieved from https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/index.html
• John Friberg, (2017).  Operation Provide Comfort – 10th  Special Forces Role. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://sofrep.com/news/58615operation-provide-comfort/.             
• Department of Defense (2017).4-01 The Defense Transportation System.  D.C: Washington.
• Chief Warrant Officer Antonio Ocasio (2007) Retrieved https://alu.army.mil/alog/issues/JulAug07//resource_plan.html.