Winning the Great Power Competition: Better Logistics And Sustainment (From RealClearDefense)

Logistics and sustainment are what makes the difference between a military that can fight and win wars and one-trick ponies that give out as soon as they have to operate beyond their immediate support facilities. This is an area in which the U.S. military excels, due almost entirely to the support of the private sector.  Russia has built a rather formidable first strike conventional military capability but it lacks adequate logistics and sustainment.  Similarly, China is building a large Navy, but it lacks the necessary logistics and sustainment capabilities to support offensive forces once they move even a short distance from the Asian mainland. In the emerging great power competition, logistics and sustainment may count for more than the number of tanks, aircraft, submarines or missiles in a nation’s inventory. I have written about this for RealClearDefense here.