In the evolving landscape of contemporary warfare, the integration of Army sustainment information with maneuver and intelligence operations is crucial to enhancing operational effectiveness and supporting informed decision making by maneuver commanders. Army doctrinal publications observe that poorly planned or executed sustainment can cause mission failure. As the Army moves toward replicating industry-leading emerging technologies, the role of predictive logistics in modernizing sustainment practices shows a promising horizon where efficiencies from data integration vastly enhance commanders’ decision making. In this promising future, the prevalent issue lies in our current doctrine and practices. To link present execution with the requirements of emerging technologies, the Army must undergo a cultural shift that opposes the traditional information silos and promotes information integration and data-driven decision making.
Introduction
The complexities of modern warfare demand a sophisticated approach to sustainment that transcends traditional operational boundaries. As MG Mark T. Simerly emphasizes in his “Predictive Logistics in Data-Driven Sustainment” article in the fall 2023 issue of
Army Sustainment, effective use of sustainment data is critical for achieving decision dominance in future conflicts. Historical precedents, such as the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939, Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and others highlight the consequences of inadequate sustainment integration.
For instance, during the Soviet invasion of Finland, a lack of logistical foresight resulted in significant troop shortages and equipment failures, crippling operational effectiveness. The recent Russia-Ukraine war further underscores the necessity for robust logistical support aligned with maneuver operations, exemplified by Ukraine’s adaptive sustainment strategies amid challenging conditions. Conversely, a fast cultural adaptation to data leverage and convergence significantly enhances visualization and decision making in a way that sets leading industry peers apart from one another within markets and similarly promises to set adversaries apart by a wide margin in future conflict.
The Role of Predictive Logistics
Modernization efforts within the Army are increasingly adopting predictive logistics, leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to forecast supply chain requirements and identify potential disruptions. For instance, the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A) combines personnel management with real-time data analytics, enabling commanders to foresee personnel shortages and optimize resource allocation, a far more efficient way than the traditional method of manually updated analog or digital personnel status reports. Similarly, the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army) integrates supply chain management with maintenance tracking, allowing for a predictive approach to logistics. GCSS-Army, like IPPS-A, allows for industry-quality precision on asset visibility and predictability.
These digital systems of record, along with other emergent technologies, such as sensors, significantly reduce ambiguity, increase efficiency, and produce data that can be leveraged toward better sustainment predictability, execution, and decision making.
Practices such as the ones mentioned above can be seen in action today in the civilian sector by several market-leading corporations. Through employment of advanced technology, these firms anticipate demand, optimize inventory levels, and, most important, exploit efficiencies and visualization in pursuit of better decisions and execution. By adopting similar industry methodologies, the Army can enhance its maneuver agility. This will ensure that units have timely access to critical supplies and resources, and that commanders have a better understanding of holistic unit statuses, leading to decisions that are faster, more precise, and more successful than ever before.
Army Field Manual (FM) 2-0, Intelligence; FM 3-0, Operations; and FM 4-0, Sustainment Operations, underscore the importance of embedding sustainment considerations within planning processes, fostering a more adaptable and responsive force. For example, FM 4-0 details frameworks for sustaining operations in various environments, emphasizing the need for commanders to integrate sustainment plans with operational objectives and timelines. FM 2-0 also establishes that for commanders to best understand the operational environment, it is critical for maneuver, intelligence, and sustainment information to be fully integrated. In other words, for these technologies to excel in producing complementary and reinforcing effects in support of the maneuver commander, and for their benefits to pay off in modern battlefields against similarly equipped adversaries, the data-driven integration cultural glidepath must shift concurrently, not consequentially, with emergent technology employment.
The OODA Loop and Sustainment Integration
The observe, orient, decide, act (OODA) loop serves as a vital framework for understanding how sustainment data can inform operational decision making. Organizations such as leading industry firms and other highly efficient organizations are not successful solely due to their equipment or technologies. In fact, many of these capabilities are widely available, and are often shared by their peers. What sets these leading organizations apart from others is a culture of data sharing and integration that expedites their movement through decision cycles in support of faster, yet more accurate, decisions that increase their probability of success. The integration of sustainment data enhances each phase of this cycle.
Observe
During the observe phase, comprehensive sustainment data illuminates unit capabilities, resource availability, and operational constraints. Early integration of this data during the military decision-making process provides commanders with a holistic view of personnel, supply status, and maintenance requirements. For example, a brigade commander might use a common operational picture (COP) to track real-time ammunition supplies, vehicle readiness, and personnel health metrics. This visibility enables proactive adjustments to operational plans, such as reallocating resources to units projected to face higher engagement levels. However, in today’s culture, data silos during planning and execution often inhibit this integration, leading to missed opportunities for optimizing operational effectiveness. Prominent examples of this are in most tactical operation centers’ layouts where maneuver and intelligence planners often reside disconnected from sustainment planners. These data silos result in separate maneuver and sustainment COPs that would otherwise complement each other and would provide a holistic picture if integrated.
Orient
Orientation requires translating sustainment data into actionable insights that enhance situational awareness. Commanders must assess risks, identify support requirements across operational phases, and understand the ramifications of sustainment constraints on mission objectives. For instance, during exercises, commanders could use predictive analytics to evaluate current logistics statuses or projections and adjust operational timelines, task organization, or tasks to units based on sustainment data. An illustrative example of this is the use of the logistics status (LOGSTAT) report, which provides insights into the current state of logistics and maintenance. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, commanders who effectively used LOGSTAT reporting to assess logistics and personnel readiness maintained operational momentum against a dispersed enemy. By harnessing data versus relying on human input, and by integrating the data with intelligence reports, commanders could adjust strategy in real time based on facts, thus mitigating risk and increasing the chance of mission success.
Decide
In the decide phase, informed resource allocation and task prioritization hinge on a comprehensive understanding of current and projected sustainment capabilities. By synchronizing sustainment data with operational plans and intelligence estimates, commanders can align decisions with logistical realities. For example, planners can employ advanced data analytics to determine optimal resource distribution based on real-time logistics data. Through accurate data on personnel, supplies, and maintenance, embedded into the projected synchronization matrix, units can achieve just-in-time (JIT) resourcing. JIT emphasizes minimizing waste and optimizing resource allocation based on real-time demand.
Adopting a similar philosophy in military logistics can help ensure that resources are allocated efficiently. This practice would ultimately enhance mission success by placing the right number of resources against accurate requirements. JIT practices embedded into operational culture would also maximize the efficient use of transportation and storage capacities through leaner processes. For example, by knowing the exact requirements of a unit, we could ensure only the required assets were allocated to those requirements. Proficiency in these practices would yield a vast payoff, especially in OEs with critical resource constraints, such as deployed environments with ammunition and transportation restrictions and other resource limitations.
Act
Once decisions are made, sustainment data enables commanders to monitor plan execution and adapt as necessary. Real-time data tracking facilitates proactive management of personnel, critical platforms, supplies, and logistics, allowing commanders to respond dynamically to changing battlefield conditions. For example, a battalion commander might use GPS-enabled logistics systems to monitor supply movements, enabling timely adjustments to supply routes or distribution points in response to evolving threats.
Moreover, the integration of predictive logistics empowers leaders to anticipate logistics needs and adjust resource allocation proactively. For instance, if a primary supply route becomes compromised, commanders can quickly reroute assets and adapt their operational approaches to minimize disruptions. Civilian industry uses advanced routing algorithms and predictive analytics to optimize delivery routes in real time, a methodology the military could adapt for enhancing operational logistics in general, and even more so in chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats. Additionally, the employment of future maintenance and liquid sensor technology could assist commanders in predicting the risk of mission failure by way of maintenance or supplies, widening the decision-making gap in favor of risk mitigation.
Conclusion
The imperative for integrating sustainment data into military operations has never been more critical, and its margin of payoffs has never been greater. As the Army prepares for future conflicts, leveraging emerging technologies to enhance sustainment transparency will provide maneuver commanders with the comprehensive situational awareness necessary to dominate the battlespace. By actively harnessing and integrating sustainment data, military planners can significantly improve the speed and accuracy of decision-making processes. The path to victory in the Army of 2040 depends on our commitment to the innovative integration of logistics with operational and intelligence frameworks. Only by breaking down traditional information silos and fostering a culture of integrated data-driven decision making can the Army ensure its forces are equipped to meet the challenges of future warfare.
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CPT Stephanie Torres currently serves as the First Army Division West commanding general’s aide de camp. Previous assignments include operations officer, 15th Brigade Support Battalion; forward support company commander, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment; and support operations plans officer, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; logistics officer, United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, South Korea. She has served in sustainment, armor, and infantry formations, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2009, and has conducted two regionally aligned forces missions to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and European Command. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice with Homeland Security specialization from Saint Leo University and is in the process of obtaining a Master of Business Administration degree in supply chain management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
SOURCE: Army.mil,
https://www.army.mil/article/282465/ (This article was originally published in the winter 2025 issue of
Army Sustainment.)