A Tool to Enhancing the Military Decision-making Process By Jacob L. Hall II, Sustainment & Distribution Specialist, HQ United States European Command Directorate of Logistics, Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (DDOC) and Major Christopher Buckham, Logistics Officer, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), HQ United States European Command, Directorate of Logistics
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or as long as wars have been fought, commanders have struggled with sustaining their troops and ensuring that goods needed to meet their objectives were readily available when required. Countless military thinkers and historians have highlighted the importance of logistics in an effective military strategy. Prussian General and military thinker Carl Von Clausewitz defined military strategy as the linking together (Verbindung) of separate battle engagements into a single whole, for the final object of war.1 These engagements, or functional areas, can best be described as infantry assaults, artillery barrages, or logistical functions during the life-cycle of a specified campaign. While many areas exist, and are critical elements to achieving success during the campaign, one can argue that logistics is one of the most important. Logistics in essence is the management, transportation, storage, and distribution
of resources from one point to another to meet a requirement. However, an integral part of the logistical process that usually takes a back seat is what happens in between, and how the movement and future availability of these assets affects command decisions in the fog of war.2 Early in the Napoleonic wars (18031815), Napoleon Bonaparte established the first train regiments solely dedicated to moving supplies and equipment where commanders needed them the most.3 While this strategy enhanced the overall distribution of supplies, the problem of monitoring the transit of cargo was still lagging behind. During the late 18th and majority of the 19th Centuries commanders had to rely heavily upon horseback riders, hand-written letters, and couriers to know the whereabouts of in-transit supplies. The Information Age has provided modern military forces with tools that were unimaginable during Clausewitz’s time. One tool in particular
1
2 3
Carl Von Clausewitz, On War, translated and edited by M. Howard & P. Paret, Princeton University Press (1976).
Ibid A. Millett & P. Maslowski, For the Common Defense, Free Press (1994).
is the ability to monitor the In-Transit Visibility (ITV) of essential supplies and equipment needed on the battlefield. On today’s battlefield, commanders have the ability to locate personnel, supplies and equipment as fast as a computer server can process a request. With the easy access to the internet and logistic platforms such as Single Mobility System (SMS), the national Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility (RF-ITV) server, IGC/GTN (Integrated Development Environment/ Global Transportation Network), and a host of other systems, commanders now have more flexibility when developing the logistical framework of a military operation. What is ITV?
The uniformed definition for ITV, according to US Army Field Manual 55-1, is the capability to identify the location of resources at any moment in the distribution pipeline.4 Simply stated, ITV is an
4
Army Field Manual 55-1, Transportation Operations (1998).
The views expressed in this article belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the US Government or Department of Defense.
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Defense Transportation Journal
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June 2014
