Military Strategy and Logistics Fall Term Course

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Introduction:

The Military Strategy and Logistics course provides students with analytic and conceptual tools that will enable students to assess strategic situations and develop strategic options to meet national objectives. The course is founded on the understanding that, at the strategic level, logistics and strategic analyses coalesce. Strategy drives requirements that necessitate resources; simultaneously our Nations available resources shape defense and military strategies.

Course Outline:

This course is divided into three blocks.

Block One begins with a study of the theoretical foundations of strategy, war and strategic logistics. Students read classic theoretical texts including Clausewitz, Sun Tzu and Mao Tse-tung, as well as foundational pieces on resourcing and logistics from theorist and practitioners including Henry Eccles, known as the father of modern logistics. This block includes case studies for students to apply theoretical concepts to historical cases.

Block Two then focuses on the relationship between defense strategy, force structure and resourcing. Students develop an appreciation that defense planning, as a form of strategic planning, at best enables the US to deal with an uncertain world within an existing economic/resource framework. Block topics include Global Defense Posture and case studies of Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Reviews (QDR), measuring military capability and military innovation as well as US defense planning under uncertainty.

Block Three provides a comprehensive look at strategic logistics: the processes, organizations and policies enabling the US to generate, project and sustain military force. Topics include the Joint Deployment Distribution Enterprise, the Department of Defense Supply Chain, and Logistics across Service, Joint, Interagency and Multinational contexts. There are two case studies: one involving the Northern Distribution Network and the other a Joint Force Reception case study during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This final block also examines the role of combatant command theater strategy and theater campaign plans in shaping uncertain environments and prioritizing theater resources. The course ends with a look at evolving challenges including Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Cyber.

Accreditation Policy:

The Military Strategy and Logistics course meets the accreditation standards outlined by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 1800.1, Officer Military Education Policy (OPMEP). Each lesson specifies lesson objectives supporting specific joint learning areas (JLAs).