WAR STUDIES:

MILITARY STRATEGY AND LOGISTICS

 

5100

 

AY 2004-2005

 

LESSON 38

 

 

THEATER WARFARE AND OPERATIONAL LOGISTICS CASE STUDY

 

 

“The Tactics – no, amateurs discuss tactics, Alekseyev thought wryly.  Professional soldiers study logistics.”

 

Red Storm Rising

Tom Clancy

 

 

CASE STUDY

 

 

1.   PURPOSE:

 

      To evaluate the strategic and logistic implications of major theater war (MTW).

 

 

2.   RELATIONSHIP TO THE COURSE:

 

      This lesson builds on your first semester lessons on the Gulf War (Grand Strategy), devising war strategies, and the Gettysburg and North Africa campaign studies, and adds resource and strategy insights from a recent major theater war and inclusive campaign: The Gulf War – OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM.  We will also integrate what we know thus far about our efforts in OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.  In the next lesson, you will have the opportunity to craft your own theater strategic concept and logistic concept in our third and last phase of the PUNIC XXI exercise series.

 

 

3.  LESSON OBJECTIVES:

 

a.       Derive and comprehend strategic and logistic lessons learned from OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM for the conduct of major theater warfare, and compare them with what we know about Afghanistan and our efforts in Iraq.  (LA 1f, g, h; 2b, d, e; 3a, b, c, d, e, f; 4a, c)

 

b.      Analyze a multi-Service, multinational theater strategy designed to meet national strategic goals with emphasis on logistic requirements.  (LA 2a, b, c, d, e; 3a, c, e, f; 4a, b, c, d)

 

c.       Synthesize, from a geographic Combatant Commander's perspective, the resource requirements to support campaign plans, to include mobilization, deployment, sustainability, and information operations.  (LA 4a, b, c, d)

 

d.      Evaluate the advantages/disadvantages to be gained through joint and coalition military action, with emphasis on theater logistics support.  (LA 3e, f; 4a, b, c, d)

 

e.       Evaluate enduring campaigning principles and their effect on coalition military reach, endurance, timing, and tempo.  (LA 3d, e, f; 4a, c, d)

 

 

4.  GENERAL:

 

      Why are we spending time on theater warfare?  There are several reasons.  First, the definition of the strategic level of war includes the development of theater war plans to achieve national or multinational military objectives, among other things.  Second, theater campaign plans serve as the time-phased force requirements estimation tool for national/multinational force generation, projection, and sustainment.  It is impossible to gauge the adequacy of strategic logistics actions without understanding theater level requirements over time.

 

      Since OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM (DS/S) is a relatively recent major theater military campaign with significant force and logistics ramifications which features major involvement of all the Services as well as multinationals, we have chosen it as the foundation for our case study.  Then we will compare and contrast that campaign with more recent actions to seek insights for the future.

 

      Obviously, the purpose of this and the foregoing is to prepare you to devise your own theater strategic and logistic concepts when the paper is blank.  You get to do that in our next lesson.

 

 

5.   ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:

 

a.      How did DS/S fit into the overall pattern of the Gulf War strategy and the use of the various instruments of power?  What do you consider the strengths and weaknesses of the coalition aspects?   The joint aspects?

 

b.      What part did industry play in DS/S?

 

  1. What was the DS/S theater campaign plan?  Was it inversely or progressively planned?  Why?  Was war termination factored in?  How was unity of effort achieved?  What are the enduring lessons for planning theater campaigns? 

 

d.      What were the most significant logistic challenges?  Are there any enduring lessons regarding joint and coalition logistics?  About expeditionary operations at great distances from the homeland?

 

e.       What do you believe the cumulative effect of the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq and the other MOOTW will be on the transformation process?

 

 

6.   STUDENT REQUIREMENTS:

 

        Read required readings and be prepared to discuss aspects of the case.

 

 

7.  REQUIRED READING:

 

      “Theater Warfare And Logistics Case Study.”  (SEPARATE ISSUE)