Multinational Logistics: Is It Worth It
Abstract
The United States military is increasingly involved in multinational operations with NATO and non-NATO nations. We have demonstrated an increasing propensity to use military force for non-defensive conflicts, under the auspices of United Nations resolutions or the NATO umbrella. Our participation in these multinational efforts has also come at a time when we are postured with fewer forces across the board. Given the nature of multinational operations it seems logical to work together with other nations in limited mission type operations to reduce the total required logistics force strengths and to leverage emerging logistics capabilities of other nations. Nation building and humanitarian operations are weighted towards logistics. This is a dramatic departure from the Cold War era, where combat formations were the preeminent force, supported by the necessary logistics. In operations short of war, logistics could be the predominant force. Given our increasing national desires to deploy military forces, as part of an alliance or coalition, logistics consolidation and cooperation is appealing to reduce redundancy and lower costs. This paper concludes with the inherent difficulties in multinational logistics and offers some recommendations for future multinational logistics operations. American soldiers require and deserve the requisite logistics, unilaterally.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 06, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA377180
Entities
People
- Mark A. Bellini
Organizations
- United States Army War College