logistics readiness
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Logistics ‘unpreparedness’ and the International Forces East Timor mission in 1999 – strategic logistics and what went wrong
By David Beaumont This article, and the series which follows, are an updated version of a presentation given at the Australian National University titled ‘Logistics preparedness and mobilising the national support base: the effectiveness of ADF strategic logistics prior to… Continue reading
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Making the military prepared and resilient – logistics, supply-chains and problems within
By David Beaumont. This is the second part of a presentation given at the Australian – New Zealand Defence Logistics Conference during June 2023. This conference convened to discuss supply chain resilience at a time of strategic competition. Part one can… Continue reading
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Learning to live in a logistician’s world – strategic logistics and the future of military resilience
This is the first part of a presentation given at the Australian – New Zealand Defence Logistics Conference during June 2023. This conference convened to discuss supply chain resilience at a time of strategic competition. By David Beaumont. There is… Continue reading
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The debris of an organisation – thinking about how the ADF recovers from the first losses of war: Part One
‘In war, mistakes are normal; errors are usual, information is seldom complete, often accurate, and frequently misleading. Success is won, not by personnel and materiel in prime condition, but by the debris of an organisation worn by the strain of… Continue reading
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Preparing for preparedness – how should we begin?
By David Beaumont. Logistics readiness refers to the ability to undertake, to build up and thereafter to sustain, combat operations at the full combat potential of forces.[1] Logistics readiness is not just a matter of prioritising Defence resources. Of course… Continue reading
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Burying the hero – how logistics and readiness changed war
By David Beaumont. This is part two of a three-part series on logistics and logistics readiness. In ‘The water in the well – how much logistics readiness is enough?’ I described the idea of logistics readiness as the ability of… Continue reading
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The water in the well – how much readiness is enough?
By David Beaumont. One of Martin Van Creveld’s most contentious, and subsequently debated, themes of Supplying War related to the persistent inability, if not unwillingness, of various militaries to adequately structure and prepare themselves for the rigours of sustained combat.… Continue reading
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The value of a moment – logistics and the acceleration of war
By David Beaumont. Over the next month we’ll be publishing a number of popular posts on as broad a range of topics as possible. ‘Future advantage will lie with the side who can ‘own the time’ and best prepare the… Continue reading
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A new narrative for the mobilisation of a nation – how Defence might prepare the national support base for a future war – Part One
Over the next month we’ll be publishing a number of popular posts on as broad a range of topics as possible. The next two posts outline the imperative to rethink how the ‘national support base’ is incorporated into defence. By David… Continue reading
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What an operation twenty years ago can tell us about preparedness now – lessons from INTERFET in 1999
By David Beaumont. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) went to East Timor in 1999 armed with luck and sustained by the outstanding initiative and resolve of its personnel. The logistics system, in contrast, was cobbled together from the remnants of… Continue reading
The Paper War: Logistics... and everything but the fighting. 