logisticsinwar
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The Paper War – the Substack Companion is online
By David Beaumont. A companion Substack for ‘The Paper War’ can now be found here. So why launch a Substack while maintaining this website? As you may remember from a post a while ago, I’ve been pondering different options for… Continue reading
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Sovereign survivability and shared resilience: placing logistics at the centre of new strategy
By Robbin Laird This article was originally posted at defense.info as ‘From Boutique Concern to Existential Question: Logistics, sustainment and combat power’. It is published here with permission. During a visit to Canberra in April 2026, I had the opportunity… Continue reading
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Preparedness planning at a strategic juncture: four considerations for preparing the national support base for conflict
By David Beaumont, PhD The nature of the military threats that Australia now faces are not ones that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can, nor should, face alone. Instead, as history shows of all wars, military threats to the nation… Continue reading
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Beyond preparedness: logistics and resilience amid new strategic realities
By David Beaumont Presentation given to the NATO Logistics Committee, 12 Nov 25 Firstly, I would like to extend my gratitude for the great privilege to speak to the members of NATO’s Logistics Committee. I also wish to acknowledge the… Continue reading
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Read it – National support for Defence is a whole-of-nation imperative
Editorial Marc Ablong, writing at The Strategist, provides a summary of some of the key issues surrounding the concept of ‘national support’. ‘National support’ is a topic I have often written about, and at its core, is about the integration… Continue reading
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Rethinking Defence Logistics: The Strategic Imperative for Change
By Robbin Llaird In an era of shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving security challenges, traditional approaches to defence logistics and industrial cooperation are proving fundamentally inadequate. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has starkly illustrated that modern warfare demands not just… Continue reading
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Williams Foundation September 2025 – Beyond Fight Tonight: Building Resilience and Capacity Across Defence and Industry
By David Beaumont (regarding an article by Robbin Laird) Recently the members of the Williams Foundation convened for a seminar on the topic ‘Fight Tonight: combat readiness at the speed of Relevance‘. The seminar gave members, and a large audience,… Continue reading
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Do Defence logisticians need a new professional narrative?
By David Beaumont Ten years ago, I wrote a short article on the Australian Army’s then ‘Land Power Forum’ arguing the case for an Army logistics narrative. This article was written in the wake of a shake-up of the Army’s… Continue reading
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Military solvency and signs of a system that might not work – why militaries must reimagine how they support and sustain forces in a future war
By David Beaumont Western militaries find themselves at a crossroads, as new pressures force a revaluation of assumptions about how they prepare for, and subsequently sustain, operations during a conflict. As the diet of these militaries expands – driven by… Continue reading
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Thesis: Logistics, national support and failure to prepare – lessons on strategic logistics and national support from the 1980’s and 1990’s
By David Beaumont In late July 2024, I was fortunate to enough to have my research recognised with the award of a Doctor of Philosophy. My research entailed a deep study of Defence’s history to unpick the reasons that the… Continue reading
The Paper War: Logistics... and everything but the fighting. 