Sea Based Logistics: Distribution Problems for Future Global Contingencies

Evolving doctrine in the U. S. Marine Corps emphasizes small, highly-mobile forces, supported from the sea rather than from large, land-based supply points. We introduce some emerging problems in sea based logistics, and show how simulation might be used to address them. We describe a simulation model of the offload of supplies to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, and show how to determine the number and allocation of different material handling devices for such an operation. 1 NEW DOCTRINE The end of the Cold War and the emergence of thirdworld regional threats have drastically changed the missions of our military services. For the Naval Services (the Navy and Marine Corps), the new threat environment is perceived to be the littoral , meaning the sea and land arenas nearest a coast line. For the Navy, this is a change in the nature of the conflict, away from the open water; for the Marine Corps, it is a change in magnitude—likely conflicts today will involve smaller forces...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1997
• Where: WSC
• Authors: Keebom Kang, Kevin R. Gue
• Keywords: Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Marine Corps, Modeling And Simulation, Sea Based Logistics, WSC 1997