Explores the multistranded of the Strategic Distribution program, discussing why a significant change was needed in Defense distribution, how Strategic Distribution sought to transform the system, and how well that system met the challenge of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

This documented briefing reports on research done as part of the Strategic Distribution program (SD), a joint endeavor of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to improve the reliability and responsiveness of the Defense distribution system. This analysis is part of RAND's ongoing efforts to help these organizations shape the concept and strategy behind SD, and to aid in implementing process improvements. SD began in 2000 as a means of addressing problems in the distribution portion of the military supply chain. Since the effort began, SD has produced a process improvement methodology that has resulted in distribution processes that move materiel and personnel more quickly, reliably, and efficiently. Earlier initiatives such as the Army's Velocity Management (VM) had already demonstrated the successes that can result from a systematic analysis of end-to- end processes and the empowerment of a committed team of military logisticians. SD has extended these process improvements to the joint level. During its first year, SD laid the groundwork for major change. It established an organization to pursue improvement, developed measurement tools to capture successes and failures, and developed its strategic concept, headed by senior leaders from DLA and TRANSCOM. Committees were established to oversee SD efforts in four areas: stock positioning, air distribution, surface distribution, and financial management within the Defense Transportation System (DTS). These committees are led by senior officers from the DLA Defense Distribution Center (DDC), Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC), TRANSCOM's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (MSDDC), and TRANSCOM, respectively. An executive agent, two co-directors, and a common analytical agency coordinate complementary efforts and initiatives among the four committees.

Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.

The mission of the United States Army is to fight and win our nation's wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders. Accomplishing this mission rests on the ability of the Army to equip and move its forces to the battle and sustain them while they are engaged. Logistics provides the backbone for Army combat operations. Without fuel, ammunition, rations, and other supplies, the Army would grind to a halt. The U.S. military must be prepared to fight anywhere on the globe and, in an era of coalition warfare, to logistically support its allies. While aircraft can move large amounts of supplies, the vast majority must be carried on ocean going vessels and unloaded at ports that may be at a great distance from the battlefield. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have shown, the costs of convoying vast quantities of supplies is tallied not only in economic terms but also in terms of lives lost in the movement of the materiel. As the ability of potential enemies to interdict movement to the battlefield and interdict movements in the battlespace increases, the challenge of logistics grows even larger. No matter how the nature of battle develops, logistics will remain a key factor. Force Multiplying Technologies for Logistics Support to Military Operations explores Army logistics in a global, complex environment that includes the increasing use of antiaccess and area-denial tactics and technologies by potential adversaries. This report describes new technologies and systems that would reduce the demand for logistics and meet the demand at the point of need, make maintenance more efficient, improve inter- and intratheater mobility, and improve near-real-time, in-transit visibility. Force Multiplying Technologies also explores options for the Army to operate with the other services and improve its support of Special Operations Forces. This report provides a logistics-centric research and development investment strategy and illustrative examples of how improved logistics could look in the future.

Based on hundreds of oral interviews and unclassified documents, this study offers a comprehensive chronological narrative of the first four years of Operation Enduring Freedom.