U.S. forces have been conducting missions in central Asia for more than 16 years, and logistics operations there have passed through several phases. During the initial phases of Operation Enduring Freedom, logistics support was transported by air, ground, and pack mule. After the battlefield matured, support transitioned to military convoys roaming the battlespace to resupply the warfighter. Today, contracted logistics resupply missions are the primary means of supporting coalition forces engaged in Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
Currently, the Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade (RSSB) is responsible for mission command of all sustainment throughout the Combined Joint Operations Area--Afghanistan (CJOA--A). In October 2017, the 3rd Infantry Division (ID) Sustainment Brigade deployed to assume RSSB responsibilities.
THE SPO TRANSPORTATION BRANCH
The 3rd ID RSSB Support Operations (SPO) Transportation Branch serves as the distribution command and control cell responsible for synchronizing and executing intratheater logistics from the operational level to the tactical level. The branch is an ad hoc organization built to accomplish this diverse mission.
Prior to deployment, the branch's nine personnel managed movements for the sustainment brigade in garrison. This force structure was too small to undertake the mission in Afghanistan, so the branch added 23 Soldiers, growing it to 32 personnel. The branch was then divided among five subordinate transportation modes (fixed-wing, rotary-wing, sling load, airdrop, and ground) to provide movement command and control. These operations were divided among three branches: mobility, aerial delivery, and ground.
MOBILITY BRANCH OPERATIONS
To effectively manage air assets in theater, the Transportation Division's Mobility Branch was split into two teams: the rotary-wing team and the fixed-wing team.
The rotary-wing team manages contracted rotary-wing assets throughout the country. Air movement requests are submitted by supported units through NATO's Effective Virtual Execution (EVE) system. EVE is the system of record for rotary-wing movements in Afghanistan and is used to develop the daily schedule of operations to facilitate the movement of sustainment cargo and personnel. The fixed-wing team coordinates the movement of fixed-wing aircraft by using several information systems to ensure time-sensitive cargo reaches its final destination.
AERIAL DELIVERY
The most prominent transportation mode belongs to the aerial delivery section. As with the other branches, the Aerial Delivery Branch is divided into two teams. The first team, the sling load team, provides tactical-level sustainment through expedient distribution to helicopter landing zones across the CJOA--A.
The RSSB manages six fixed sling-load sites across the CJOA--A. Two of those sites, located at Bagram and Kandahar Airfields, are managed by military personnel from the 3rd ID Sustainment Brigade and the 307th Brigade Support Battalion. The other four sites, located at Forward Operating Bases Fenty, Gamberi, Lightning, and Dahlke, are managed by contractors.
The second aerial delivery team is the airdrop team. During the 3rd ID Sustainment Brigade's time in theater, it has brought airdrop operations back to the CJOA--A to increase both routine and emergency resupply responsiveness. The airdrop capability was de-scoped with the reduction of forces in Afghanistan. The only remaining conventional rigger unit is one platoon in Qatar that sends five riggers on temporary duty to Afghanistan to conduct operations.
The RSSB made the airdrop capability user-friendly. To submit an airdrop request, customers simply submit requests to the aerial delivery section, which then coordinates for rigging, Air Force aircraft utilization, and delivery. These aerial delivery capabilities have expanded resupply to the warfighter in isolated locations.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Upon assuming responsibility for sustainment operations, the 3rd ID Sustainment Brigade quickly recognized that ground movement in the area was underutilized. The National Afghan Trucking (NAT) contract is the only form of ground movement available in Afghanistan, so contracted trucking is critical to the movement of vehicles and other large pieces of equipment across the CJOA--A.
Contracted trucking is far more able than other available modes of transportation to move large quantities of equipment and supplies. However, the downside to NAT is the lack of control military forces have on contracted convoy movements.
The additional time required for trucks to arrive at their assigned points of origin, upload supplies, and synchronize with convoy security assets all add to this logistics challenge. While an air movement request requires a 72-hour forecasting window between request submission and mission completion, land movement requests can take more than 11 days from submission date to required delivery date.
SUPPORTING THE AFGHAN WARFIGHTER
In Afghanistan today, the NATO Resolute Support mission drives resupply throughout the CJOA--A. The commander's guidance steers the Train Advise Assist Commands (TAACs) and task force commanders in their operational planning. Movement control teams receive requests based on this planning. Accordingly, sustainment planners not only determine requirements for the RSSB's customer base but also for significant stakeholders in the transportation system.
Expeditionary advisory package missions drive asset utilization. Units throughout the theater conduct train, advise, and assist missions with Afghan National Army elements in remote, often austere settings to increase readiness and combat capability. These remote sites are not feasible for all modes of delivery, adding yet another obstacle to an already complex sustainment environment.
As the Resolute Support mission takes a new course with the introduction of the security force assistance brigades entering Afghanistan, the customer base continues to broaden. Those brigades arrive heavy on advisers and light on logistics and rely on external resources to accomplish their mission. This surge in customers increases transportation demand without increasing assets.
Time is one of the most valuable resources of any organization. In an expedited planning effort, preferred delivery is not the most effective. When an Afghan army corps decides to execute an operation, expeditionary advisory package planners must react quickly to conduct advisory missions.
Adding to that difficulty is the movement of time-sensitive cargo. It is imperative to remember that these supplies are critical repair parts, prime vendor items with a limited shelf life, and fuel needed to operate vehicles and equipment in support of the mission.
Normally, vast amounts of cargo are routine in Afghanistan. Logisticians in theater use a hub-and-spoke method to distribute all classes of supply. Shipments enter Bagram Airfield through multimodal transportation and then are distributed throughout the CJOA--A.
Logistics bottlenecks for all classes of supply add difficulty at key points and times throughout the distribution process. Customer units lacking in-transit visibility of repair parts and other critical supplies can exacerbate bottlenecks by selecting the highest priority for cargo that should instead be routine.
EDUCATING THE CUSTOMER
One of the first things any successful logistician learns is that you can never turn down a mission. No matter how difficult it is, you must find a way to make it happen. That means the SPO Transportation Branch is at the mercy of the requesting units. Operations are customer-driven, and the responsibility of submitting movement requests falls to individual units.
Units usually choose to move their assets by rotary-wing or fixed-wing aircraft because of the mode's speed. The SPO Transportation Branch is responsible for guiding customers in selecting and planning for the right distribution mode to fulfill their requests. To do this, branch personnel first had to educate units about the capabilities available.
The SPO Transportation Branch used a combined education and marketing plan that informed customers while increasing demand for ground transportation assets. This proactive approach not only met the customers' needs but also opened up opportunities that were not initially available.
The branch developed a SharePoint site to answer most questions pertaining to movement operations. If a customer wants to know how to submit a movement request or receive a container, an answer is just a few clicks away.
The branch also spent hours talking to units and walking them through the movement request submission process in order to meet their distribution needs. Mobile teams traveled to outlying bases to break down barriers and educate organizations on all available transportation capabilities. These teams, in conjunction with EVE and the Global Distribution Management system, provided customers with asset visibility. These connections provided coordination and synchronization that created symbiotic relationships.
THE DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT BOARD
The branch also developed a Distribution Management Board (DMB) that is tied in with the customer education campaign. This proactive, customer-centric forum focuses on forecasting operations 72 hours in advance. The RSSB uses the DMB to work out problems with transportation modes and give customers the opportunity to voice concerns or request additional help.
Consequently, the DMB is used to validate effective and efficient use of sustainment brigade assets. This battle rhythm event provides an open forum to monitor the status of movement requests, which leads to more buy-in from subordinate units and contractor partners.
Army mission command philosophy is based on trust. Trust is critical for operations, allowing each piece of the process to operate effectively. Because of the time constraints placed on the SPO Transportation Branch, the DMB is used to provide distribution guidance and create a shared understanding among stakeholders. The board empowers each member of the branch to make decisions to meet the warfighter's needs.
EFFICIENT ASSET ALLOCATION
In an era of dwindling resources and restricted force-manning levels, logistics units are being asked to do more with less. Regardless of logistics manpower reductions, customers still want their equipment and supplies as fast as possible. This forces the SPO Transportation Branch to compare movement requirements with capabilities and identify solutions to transportation shortfalls.
This approach was critical to the successful retrograde of recoverable parts to the Bagram Supply Support Activity. Ordinarily, one 20-foot flatbed truck can move two 463L pallets while a C-130J Super Hercules can move eight pallets. Based on cargo capacity alone, most customers request fixed-wing movement for bulk shipments. In some cases this is feasible, but for most transportation operations, it is not.
Each movement is unique and requires logistics forethought. The SPO Transportation Branch makes decisions regarding transportation assets based on a number of planning factors including:
• The status of ground lines of communication.
• The availability of materials handling equipment on the shipping and receiving ends.
• Fixed-wing aircraft landing capabilities at the destination.
• Helicopter landing zone restrictions.
• Variations in allowable cargo load based on humidity, temperature, and elevation.
• Sling load and airdrop feasibility.
These factors are not consistent and fluctuate daily based on the current threat level, destination, weather, political and foreign policy directives, asset availability and functionality, and personnel. The logistician's job is to apply this analysis diligently and make decisions swiftly using assets both effectively and efficiently to support the warfighter.
Cost is often overlooked in the military as long as we are being effective with our assets. But effectiveness in logistics is a given. In a contract-centric theater, most movement capabilities are driven by contracts. This means that efficiency is equally important to consider when conducting movement planning. Logisticians must ensure they are being efficient and maximizing the capabilities of contracts.
For a single mission, the price tag of performing a distribution operation via a C-130 aircraft is approximately $14,014. Using contracted rotary-wing assets to execute a transportation mission costs approximately $3,387 an hour. The average land movement request to distribute supplies through NAT costs approximately $1,342. These costs are revealing and deserve the attention of transportation managers and decision-makers.
Properly executing funds and managing contracts is a leader's responsibility. Accomplishing the mission is always the first priority, but transporters need to educate and assist customers regarding the mode of delivery so that we can best use assets.
In the long run, NAT is not just a mode of transportation. It is slower than the other methods, but it brings something to the table other modes do not. NAT puts Afghans to work in an important role in the Resolute Support mission, making the mode strategically important in Afghanistan.
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Maj. Erikson McCleary is the brigade SPO Transportation Branch chief for the 3rd ID RSSB. He has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech, a master's degree from Oklahoma University, and an MBA from the College of William and Mary. He is a graduate of the Transportation Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Captains Career Course, and Intermediate Level Education. He is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and a Demonstrated Master Logistician.
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This article is an Army Sustainment magazine product.
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