So Many, So Much, So Far, So Fast: United States Transportation Command and Strategic Deployment for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Abstract
In the fall of 1978, command post exercise Nifty Nugget simulated a fast breaking attack by the Warsaw Pact on North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Europe. The first government-wide mobilization effort since World War II, the exercise tested the mobilization plans, systems, and procedures of military and civilian federal agencies. Overall exercise objectives also included: development of options during a period of rising tension, determining manpower shortfalls and logistics limitations, and identifying critical resource shortages during a protracted conventional war. In particular, Nifty Nugget evaluated cooperation between the Department of Defense and other federal agencies during mobilization and deployment of US forces. Nifty Nugget exposed great gaps in understanding between military and civilian participants who could not even agree on the meaning of the word 'mobilization,' and as a result, mobilization and deployment plans fell apart. The scenario, for instance, demanded between 200,000 and 500,000 more soldiers than DOD could locate. Confusion made it nearly impossible to transport the reinforcements who were ready to deploy. In one case, airlifters received 27 validated requests to move the same unit to 27 different places. Most of the 400,000 American troops in theater "died" in the first few weeks of the exercise because the United States could not resupply them with artillery shells, tank rounds, and other ammunition. The exercise also identified a shortage of allied doctors and medical facilities overseas, which meant that the United States had to airlift its wounded back home for treatment, further taxing transportation resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA323609
Entities
People
- Cora J. Holt
- James K. Matthews
Organizations
- Joint Chiefs of Staff