Department of Defense Pre-Positioning Programs

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), asymmetrical warfare, and globalization spell uncertainty, and strategic responsiveness can be the key to winning our nations wars The US defense strategy requires pre-positioning posture to enable faster force closure and be more flexible; more expeditionary; more survivable against anti-access threats; more joint and supportive of emerging joint warfighting concepts; and consistent with new DOD basing initiatives. Since the mid-1970's, the Department of Defense has relied on military pre-positioning programs as a means to project combat power. The Army's pre-positioning program has three land (APS-2, APS-4, APS-5) and one set pre-positioned afloat (APS-3), containing five combat maneuver brigades and sustainment stocks. Marine Corps Maritime Pre-positioning Force (MPF) and the Maritime Pre-positioning Ship (MPS) Program contain three maritime preposition squadrons (MPSRONS) afloat, and a land-based pre-position assets in Norway (NALMEB). The Navy is a predominantly a forward-positioned, forward-deployed force, and pre-positions various classes of supply, logistics capabilities, combat engineering force equipment (SeaBees), and combat hospitals. The Air Force's pre-positions materiel as Starter Stocks, Swing Stocks, and as Stocks and Standard Air Munitions Packages (STAMP), consisting of five categories: Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources (BEAR) equipment, consumables, vehicles, and medical. The equipment content of these programs and the Services'; pre-positioning concepts are reflective of a Cold War strategy: a European-focused theater, engagement and forward basing, and conventional warfare against a predictable adversary. Post 9-11 events reflect a change from a predictable enemy to an unpredictable enemy, thus dictating the need for DOD to re-look how they employ their pre-positioning concepts. Predominantly, the pre-positioning concepts are service specific and lack joint integration, joint doctrine, and joint trainin