Marine Aviation Logistics is on the cusp of changes in the way aircraft will be supported in the future. Seabasing, the increase and permanent focus on joint operations and the responsibility to perform the logistics function in a more efficient manner mandate that we take a closer look at how we can do business better. Integration, interoperability and outsourcing will be the tools of the future that will enable us to support aging aircraft while acquisitioning new weapons systems.

The current structure of the 11 active duty Marine Aviation Logistics Squadrons (MALS) was established in 1988. Since then several significant changes have occurred that will impact the design and functioning of the MALS in the future. This paper will explore how contemporary advances in technology, inventory management, and future aircraft design should be taken into account in redesigning the structure and functioning of the MALS. The paper is intended to capture some of the elements that will influence the Future MALS (MALS (F)) design. There are two reasons why the MALS design must change. First, there is a mandate to change from the leadership of the aviation logistics community. Second, there are opportunities to improve our current business practices which will allow us to improve aircraft readiness and reduce the forward deployed footprint of the MALS. Some of the available technologies include End to End AIRspeed, Current Readiness, and, most significantly, Marine Aviation Logistics Program II (MALSP II). These new concepts are being developed, but it is not yet clear how they will impact the design and structure of MALS (F). The author contends that implementation of these concepts will reduce the size of the MALS. Some functions should be moved from the MALS to other squadrons within each MAG, while other functions should be consolidated at the Marine Aircraft Wing level. Although change is necessary, the command relationships that exist between the MALS and the Marine Aircraft Groups (MAGs) they support, and the ability to smoothly transition from a garrison to a deployed environment, should not change.

Recent conflicts such as Operation Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom highlight the logistics difficulties the United States faces by relying on foreign access and infrastructure and large supply stockpiles ashore to support expeditionary operations. The Navy's transformational vision for the future, Sea Power 21, involves Seabasing as a way to address these difficulties by projecting and sustaining joint forces globally from the sea. This study analyzes logistics flow to, within and from a Sea Base to an objective, and the architectures and systems needed to rapidly deploy and sustain a brigade-size force. Utilizing the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), this study incorporates a systems engineering framework to examine current systems, programs of record and proposed systems out to the year 2025. Several capability gaps that hamper a brigade-size force from seizing the initiative anywhere in the world within a 10-day period point to a need for dedicated lift assets, such as high-speed surface ships or lighter-than-air ships, to facilitate the rapid formation of the Sea Base. Additionally, the study identifies the need for large-payload/high-speed or load-once/direct-to- objective connector capabilities to minimize the number of at-sea transfers required to employ such a force from the Sea Base in 10 hrs. With these gaps addressed, the Joint Expeditionary Brigade is supportable from the Sea Base.

Recent conflicts such as Operation Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom highlight the logistics difficulties the United States faces by relying on foreign access and infrastructure and large supply stockpiles ashore to support expeditionary operations. The Navy's transformational vision for the future, Sea Power 21, involves Seabasing as a way to address these difficulties by projecting and sustaining joint forces globally from the sea. This study analyzes logistics flow to, within and from a Sea Base to an objective, and the architectures and systems needed to rapidly deploy and sustain a brigade-size force. Utilizing the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), this study incorporates a systems engineering framework to examine current systems, programs of record and proposed systems out to the year 2025. Several capability gaps that hamper a brigade-size force from seizing the initiative anywhere in the world within a 10-day period point to a need for dedicated lift assets, such as high-speed surface ships or lighter-than-air ships, to facilitate the rapid formation of the Sea Base. Additionally, the study identifies the need for large-payload/high-speed or load-once/direct-to- objective connector capabilities to minimize the number of at-sea transfers required to employ such a force from the Sea Base in 10 hrs. With these gaps addressed, the Joint Expeditionary Brigade is supportable from the Sea Base.

The aviation logistics system supports worldwide aviation operations with a wide range of resources. It provides services to the operational force along functional lines--maintenance, supply, transportation, procurement, support planning, and many subordinate services. It is involved in every phase of the life cycle of a weapon system and in every facet of aviation operations. In the face of this complexity, there is a need for enhanced integration across resource classes, functions, and weapon systems to ensure that the aviation logistics system delivers maximal peacetime readiness and combat sustainability with a specified level of resources. Moreover, resource allocations need to be consistent with the levels of readiness and sustainability reflected in the POM. A basic purpose of the PPBS is to allocate the mix of logistics support resources needed to deliver specified levels of readiness and sustainability, and to specify those levels of readiness and sustainability in light of their costs. In this Note, the concept of the PPBS is extended to include budget execution and the day-to-day management of logistics operations because of the need for consistency in execution and management with the other stages of the process.