What the Army needs to win the logistics battle. (Commentary).

When the United States deploys military forces to fight, to make peace, to keep peace, to provide humanitarian assistance in a famine or flood, it also sends along a community that provides logistics support to those war fighters.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. William G. Pagonis wrote, "running logistics for the (first) Gulf War has been compared to transporting the entire population of Alaska, along with their personal belongings, to the other side of the world, on short notice. It has been likened to relocating the city of Richmond, Va. ... Armies eat. ... Armies drive. ... Armies are a constellation of needs..."

In the first Gulf War, we needed to send mountains of materials, because we did not know precisely what we needed. Commanders anticipated the worst and ordered accordingly. It certainly was not a lean or efficient way to go, but it was effective. In fact, the technology and tools we take for granted today did not exist. Today, we have the information technology tools to provide most things "just-in-time."

The process of planning and executing the plans to move entire "cities" of war fighters is not easy.

The following technologies are examples of revolutionary thinking that can help the Army's ability to respond to crises while ensuring its forces get the logistics support they need.

Fast Sealift 

Today, it rakes weeks and months to move troops and their equipment from one place to another. It can take many months to respond to a crisis. Part of the solution to the Army's need for a lighter, more rapidly deployable force to the conflict or crisis in an intra-theater environment is the development and utilization of the Theater Support Vessel.

The TSV delivers complete packages of "ready-to-fight" combat units with their equipment.

Countries try to limit port access for landing early in a conflict. The TSV can unload cargo in just 15 feet of water. It can go 4,700 nautical miles at 40 knots with a light load. That's about four times faster than current vessels. It does nor need the extensive port infrastructure, it brings its own roll-on/ roll-off capability and its own ramp. Regular vessels that need large ports are vulnerable to the kinds of asymmetric attacks that terrorists favor. The TSV reduces the effectiveness of those threats. The vessel has briefing rooms, giving troops the capability of receiving briefings on their way to combat. Additionally, the TSV has on-board command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that allows enroute mission planning and rehearsal.

Twelve vessels could move a brigade of about 3,600 troops and their equipment.

Nanotechnology

The emerging science of nanotechnology is changing the way in which we think about miniaturization. Nanotechnology machines are the size of large molecules--hundreds can fir on the head of a pin. Examples of how the Army might use nanotechnology machines include sensing a biological agent or weapon and "eating" the anthrax in a soldier's blood, to the development of lightweight fabrics that can relay body vital statistics to the Army's Medical Corps. Other applications include the ability of unmanned aerial vehicles the size of a bumblebee that "swarm" over an area sending back pictures to a soldier around the corner.

Non-Linear Dynamics

Software development, using non-linear dynamic algorithms has changed modern society. Non-linear dynamics uses unconventional ways of thinking to look for patterns in large quantities of data. American industry has already adopted software capable of modeling and managing global logistics to move materials to required locations, when needed, and to optimize the solutions so that materials are delivered "just in time." The Army of the future could adopt similar methodologies so that supplies arrive when and where they are needed--like a supermarket restocking its shelves.

Fuel Cells

Just as the United States as a whole needs to reduce its dependency on oil, so too does the military. The U.S. auto industry has been working with the government to develop fuel cell vehicles that use no petroleum and produce no harmful emissions. Fuel cells combine hydrogen fuel with oxygen from the air to create electricity that powers vehicles by means of electric motors.

Hydrogen offers a promising energy alternative to fossil fuels, because it uses water or renewable resources and produces only water when used to generate power. Even when the hydrogen source uses gasoline, fuel cell use reduces the overall consumption of petroleum fuel.

Batteries are another problem. Soldiers today rely on batteries in a big way. They are needed for laptop computers, night vision goggles, laser range finders, GPS receivers, radios, laser target designators, among other devices.

Batteries are heavy. Research continues to find newer, lighter weight batteries to power the soldier's gear of the 21st century.

Standardized Parts

Globally competitive manufacturers believe in the "common component set." These are common or shared parts that fir into more than one vehicle. Toyota Motor Company created the world standard when it developed its Toyota Production System in the 1950s. Its process includes looking at all their vehicles as a portfolio.

By standardizing as many parts as possible, those parts that cannot or should nor be standardized have more resources available to develop them. This often leads to high quality products. Common component sets can be used in any manufacturing process from weapon systems to military truck chassis.

Sheila Ronis, Ph.D., is president of The University Group Inc., a think tank based in Birmingham, Michigan.