The Importance of In-Transit Visibility on the U.S. Military Logistics
Abstract
Just as Abraham Maslow presented a hierarchy of human needs from survival to growth, military logistics mirrors this building block approach to satisfying certain basic needs before more advanced facets of military strategy and doctrine can be formulated. The basic survival needs begin with physiological and safety needs Food, water, shelter, materiel, and security requirements must be met in order to sustain and equip military forces Next, troops are organized and trained, meeting psychological acceptance and esteem needs. Then, growth needs can be addressed, presenting opportunities to reach individual and group self-actualization. At this time, a military can begin to strategize and reach its full organizational potential Therefore, basic needs must be satisfied before cognitive thought and successful vision can be played out on the field of battle. The ability to see and act upon developing circumstances creates the importance of acquiring and acting upon such vision. The ability to see and track supplies and people is pivotal in the military decision-making process In-Transit Visibility (ITV) is the ability of military commanders to access real-time information of units and shipments entering a theater of operations during times of peace and war. Historian Stanley Falk describes logistics on two levels Logistics, on the immediate level, is the moving, supplying, and maintaining of military forces, and, on the strategic level, is the economics of warfare "Today, combat support focuses on the rapid movement and sustainment of tailored force packages to conduct military operations anywhere in the world" (AFDD 2-4, 1999, 1) ITV embraces the immediate level of military logistics and combat support.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA476361
Entities
People
- Anthony Butera
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College