Operational Sustainment in an Immature Theater

This study identifies critical sustainment issues for the deployment of contingency forces to an immature theater and analyzes doctrine's adequacy as it provides guidance to an analysis of four contingency operations; the 1964 US/Belgian hostage rescue in the Congo, the 1965 US intervention in the Dominican Republic, the 1982 British campaign in the Falklands, and the 1983 US invasion of Grenada. The study identifies repetitive sustainment problems with each operation as compared with the following sustainment considerations: planning, deployment, command, control and communication, synchronization logistics intelligence, forward basing, air superiority, future sustainment and medical evacuation. These problems are the sustainment issues which require particular attention from logistician when developing a support concept for contingency operations. The analysis identifies the need to use existing plans, the need to use preestablished loading plans, the need for a Joint Task Force (JTF) with a logistics cell and dedicated communication, the need for logistics intelligence, the proper use of synchronization, and the necessity for protection through air superiority as issues in sustaining the deployment of contingency forces in an immature theater. The analysis reaffirms doctrine's adequacy in addressing the issues.