[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 2, number 5 (September–October 1970), pages 20–23, 32. The text, including any biographical note, is reproduced as faithfully as possible to enable searchability. To view any images and charts in the article, refer to the issue itself, available on DVIDS and the bulletin’s archives at asu.army.mil/alog/.]
THE DEVELOPMENT of field facilities and equipment to meet the mobility requirements of the Army is an important part of the LOGISTICS OFFENSIVE, a continuing program launched by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Department of the Army.
Maintaining a highly mobile, flexible Army demands that the logistics support systems be responsive and geared to the needs of the combat soldier. The objective is to limit, to the maximum extent possible, logistics operations in the forward area and still maintain responsiveness.
Tomorrow’s logistics support systems will be designed for the environment — equipment, techniques, and manpower will differ depending upon the terrain and climate. The integration of facilities with the transportation, supply, and maintenance systems will permit the logistics mission to be accomplished in the area where it can be carried out most efficiently and effectively. These systems will also be improved by the application of technological advances to the design of facilities and equipment which support the combat forces.
The air line of communication, the surface transportation system, and a streamlined supply system will be integrated into one distribution system for the theater. Improved packaging and containerization techniques will permit faster deliveries to the consumer and reduce stockage requirements. Oversea logistics support activities will be reduced. Theater and mobilization reserves will be predicated upon the increased use of the C-5A to get the item to the user when he needs it, thereby permitting reduced stockage of materiel in the combat zone. Slow-moving items would not be stocked in the combat zone, but would be shipped in “as needed” on an expedited basis.
The integrated transport and supply system will continue to provide the means for transportation of materiel by sea. However, our handling system for supplies will increase in flexibility and mobility.
Discharge lighters will be used to speed the delivery of equipment and supplies to undeveloped beaches. These vessels will take materiel from transports at sea and deliver it to beaches normally accessible only to small landing craft.
Compatible cargo-handling and terminal equipment will be required to take full advantage of increased airlift and mobility. Off-the-shelf commercial items will be used, where capabilities are similar, rather than special purpose and especially developed items. Standard pallets, containers, and materials handling equipment (MHE) will be used. Standard 8 x 8 x 10-, 20-, and 40-foot containers are being developed now. In an era requiring cost consciousness and greater efficiency, these containers can be fully and economically used, circulating between ports and inland terminals. All-container aircraft will provide faster movement of supplies from the producer to the consumer in an integrated subsystem.
Materials-handling methods, techniques, and equipment are now being developed that will facilitate further the mechanized handling of Army supplies. MHE will be compatible with air and surface transportation systems and will permit an efficient interface of transportation modes. Manpower use will be reinforced by technology and, where possible, machines will replace men, automated handling will be routine. Modular containers can be lifted and stowed by machine more efficiently than by manpower.
The rough terrain forklift, a rugged vehicle that permits material handling on unprepared surfaces previously inaccessible to forklifts, is articulated and has high flotation-type pneumatic tires enabling it to operate on rough or muddy surfaces, sand, and inclines. Over-the-road equipment and helicopters will be used to handle and move the family of containers and pallets to forces in isolated areas.
The concept of containerization from shipper to consumer becomes a reality by use of a prime mover and two to three trailer units. The containers, packed at the plant, loaded onto the trailer, and transported to the air or sea port, will permit case and speed of handling. Trailers with sealed containers can then be shipped by fast surface or aerial transport from CONUS to the consumer. Prime movers would be available at each site to move the trailers, with containers or sub-contained units, directly to the point of need. Retrograde items can be loaded in the empty containers and returned to CONUS. This use of containers would result in better product protection at little or no loss, less damage due to fewer rehandlings, less exposure to the elements, and a shorter time cycle from the producer to the consumer.
To transfer containers from ship to truck, plane to truck, and truck to consumer, other equipment is necessary. Commercially available sideloading equipment is readily adaptable for handling military cargo. The sideloading machine, operated by one man, can load and unload 20-, 30-, or 40-foot containers from railroad cars, trucks or ships; raise them from shipping docks; and stack them three deep or higher. Terminal personnel requirements will be reduced since the sideloader can move directly into a ship’s hold and pick up containers.
Supply-handling conveyors can be set up by two to four men to unload the container expeditiously when it arrives at its final destination in the field. The conveyor system units when set side by side would be capable of handling a 40 x 48-inch standard military pallet load.
Mobile systems for receipt of bulk fuels at marine terminals and storage of fuel in offshore and onshore systems will be improved through the use of large, inflatable fuel bladder tank farms. These tanks can be erected and become operational in a few hours. The pipeline system will become more responsive by the use of an automatic fuel detector that will determine the grades of refined fuel being pumped through the lines. The detector will replace the present methods of computing the interface of different fuels and will reduce the time required to transfer fuel from the tanker to the combat user.
The logistics support system envisions greater reliance on maintenance mobility. Mobile maintenance support teams, capable of quick reaction, will be used extensively to accomplish critical repairs and component replacement. These teams will require mobile maintenance facilities and equipment that can be rapidly installed and displaced as necessary. No longer will large, fixed, maintenance facilities in-theater be required. Plastic balloon-like structures, prefabricated buildings, shelter containers, and lightweight mobile equipment are all available for use. These items can be easily moved by vehicle or helicopter from site-to-site as required. This concept is within today’s “state of the art” for routine, everyday use.
The use of portable and mobile power sources and truck- or helicopter-transported automatic test equipment will permit maintenance and service personnel to perform major tasks in remote locations with speed and efficiency. This equipment can be rapidly set up and will provide a completely integrated system of inspection and diagnosis. It will be used by organizational, direct support, and general support maintenance personnel. This equipment will make a completely automatic test and diagnosis of a vehicle in less than five minutes and record its findings. By using the test equipment, maintenance personnel can quickly pinpoint the cause or vehicle failure. Making only the repairs necessary will result in decreased parts replacement and vehicle downtime. The shifting of maintenance functions, such as overhaul, from oversea theaters to the continental United States (CONUS) may be more economical and would still provide rapid turnaround of repaired and rebuilt equipment.
Extensive use will be made of component replacement of self-contained modules. Skilled personnel will replace defective parts with completely sealed “like” units. Modules will be removed, repaired, and replaced with minimum effort and time by personnel with a skill level appropriate to the complexity of the task. Mobile field facilities are possible with the use of light, air-transportable, reusable shelters and base support equipment of modular design. These modular structures will be prestocked or manufactured in a relatively short time, transported in a knockdown configuration, and quickly erected by the military personnel who will occupy them. These multipurpose facilities will be used as maintenance shops, barracks, warehouses, key headquarters, medical facilities, and for weather-sensitive equipment. An entire package could consist of the prewired structure (also used as a shipping container), complete with all necessary maintenance equipment, generators, and other items.
Several building systems, now in existence, can be used. One system consists of prefabricated buildings used as “building blocks” in a number of combinations. The components consist of lightweight prefabricated panels designed for quick and easy onsite assembly. Rigid plastic foam buildings, another type of economical, efficient facility, with polyurethane foam for insulation in cold climates may also be used. A 16 x 48-foot rigid foam building can be fabricated onsite and erected within a day. Another similar shelter is an air-supported, double-walled fabric tent. The tent is easily transported by aircraft or truck. One section of the tent may be used as a complete unit or two or more sections may be joined together. It is supported by air inflation and a ground anchor system. The inflated tent provides a maintenance shelter suitable for use with all Army helicopters and wheeled and tracked vehicles. It can be erected by four men in fifteen minutes.
Inflatable and expandable buildings are used today in the MUST (Medical Unit, Self-Contained, Transportable) system. The MUST complex with three basic modules will replace the traditional tent hospital, forming a combat support hospital complex consisting of operating rooms, sterile preparation rooms, wards, casualty receiving areas, and dispensary facilities. The air-inflatable elements are double-walled shelters supported by individually valved pneumatic inner tubes. The expandable shelters consist of rigid panels with expandable accordion sides which form their own shipping container when retracted. The mobility and flexibility of medical support is increased by the self-contained power and utility shelter and patient-care system.
Road, airfield, and bridge construction plays an important part in supporting our large mobile Army. Versatile gap-crossing equipment, techniques, and material are being developed. One such item, the ribbon bridge, will significantly increase the capability of tactical forces to cross gap-obstacles with a minimum loss of momentum. The bridge forms a continuous floating structure across a stream instead of the intermittently supported roadway typified in the conventional ponton bridge. The bridge units are carried, launched, and retrieved by a specially modified truck. Expedient airfield surfacing materials will be used to quickly construct airfields capable of handling transport aircraft. The engineer will have a variety of materials to choose from, depending on desired lift of the runway, traffic volume and type, soil conditions, and duration of runway use. Aluminum and steel landing mats and prefabricated portable panels will be used for larger aircraft and for fields which have a larger anticipated volume of traffic. Flexible membrane surface will be used for short-life airfields.
The military construction units will be flexible, mobile, and capable of rapid deployment. Construction equipment, such as the rough terrain forklift and rough terrain crane, is capable of operating on various surfaces. Off-the-shelf commercial construction equipment will be procured when it has the particular capabilities that allow the engineer to be responsive in a specific situation. Repair parts and technical assistance, if necessary, will be flown into the theater. An item of equipment will no longer be required to meet specifications requiring efficient operation in both the arctic and the tropics. Thus, development, procurement, and stockage costs will be reduced.
The technology is now available to provide the logistics field facilities and equipment required by the mobile Army. Much of this materiel is already in the inventory, other items will soon enter the system, and much of the existing commercial equipment can be readily adapted to our needs.
The professional Army logistician will fully exploit this technology of the 1970’s. The logistician will efficiently mesh the field facilities and equipment with the transportation, supply, and maintenance subsystems. Standardization of facilities, materials handling equipment, and other equipment will contribute to the efficiency, effectiveness, and operational readiness of our combat forces.
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Major Richard A. Carnaghi, until recently, was a staff officer with the Contingency Plans Branch, War Plans Division, Director of Plans, ODCSLOG, DA. An Engineer officer, Major Carnaghi was graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1960.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2025 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 491595 |
| Location: | US |
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