Logistics support for NATO operations February 2006 Logistics support for NATO operations Logistics is of vital importance for any military operation. Without it, operations could not be carried out and sustained. This is especially evident with NATO’s out-of-area operations. The new missions of the Alliance are radically different from those it faced during the Cold War. NATO has now been involved in out-of-area operations for over a decade. During the 1990s, these operations were still in Europe, but the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States led to NATO foreign ministers removing all geographical limits to NATO’s area of operations at their meeting in Reykjavik in May 2002. This poses obvious logistic challenges and NATO logistics doctrine is evolving accordingly while at the same time various initiatives are underway to develop the required capabilities. Logistics defined NATO defines logistics as the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces. Under this agreed definition, logistics covers the following areas of military operations: • design and development, acquisition, storage, transport, distribution, maintenance, evacuation and disposal of materiel; • transport of personnel; • acquisition, construction, maintenance, operation and disposition of facilities; • acquisition or provision of services; • medical and health service support. These areas involve a wide range of services and responsibilities subdivided into the input and output sides of logistics: • production or acquisition aspects of logistics (research, design, development, manufacture and acceptance of equipment). This is primarily a national responsibility. However, co- operation and coordination take place within NATO in many areas, largely under the auspices of the Conference of National Armament Directors and its subordinate bodies. • consumer or operational aspects of logistics concerned with the supply and support functions of forces, falling mainly under the responsibility of the Senior NATO Logisticians’ Conference and the NATO Pipeline Committee. Other bodies, such as the Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO, advise the Military Committee on logistical matters in their specific areas of responsibility. 1 Evolution of NATO logistics doctrine During the Cold War, NATO logistics was limited to the North Atlantic area. The Alliance planned the linear defence of West Germany with national corps supported by national support elements. Lines of communication within Europe extended westwards and northwards to Channel and North Sea ports. Planning called for reinforcements and supplies to be sealifted from the United States and Canada to these same ports and to be airlifted to European bases to pick up pre-positioned equipment. The NATO Pipeline System evolved to supply fuel to NATO forces in Europe. The NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) was created in Luxembourg, initially to aid European countries in their Foreign Military Sales purchase of US combat aircraft in the 1950s. NATO Pipeline System CEPS encompasses NATO assets for In order to support the new mis- the movement, storage and delivery sions of the Alliance, the emphasis The NATO Pipeline System (NPS) of fuel in Belgium, France, Germany, has shifted away from static pipeline was set up during the Cold War to Luxembourg and the Netherlands. infrastructure to the rapidly deploy- supply Alliance forces with fuel. These are known as the host nations, able support of NATO’s expeditionary Although collectively referred to with Canada and the United States activities. To this end, NATO has de- as one system, the NPS actually designated as user nations. CEPS veloped a modular concept whereby consists of ten separate and distinct is managed by the Central Europe all fuel requirements can be satisfi ed military storage and distribution Pipeline Management Organisation through a combination of 13 discrete systems: Iceland, Italy, Greece, (CEPMO). Collectively, the host and but compatible modules which can Turkey (two separate systems - east user nations comprise the member receive, store and transport fuel in and west), Norway, Portugal, the countries participating in CEPMO. any theatre of operation. The concept United Kingdom, the North European The system is designed and managed also enables both NATO and Partner Pipeline System (NEPS) located in to meet operational requirements in nations to combine their capabilities both Denmark and Germany, and the central Europe in peace, crisis and to provide a multinational solution to largest system, the Central Europe confl ict, but is also used commercially meet all fuel requirements. Pipeline System (CEPS) in Belgium, under strict safeguards, supplying jet France, Germany, Luxembourg and fuel to several major civil airports. The the Netherlands. day-to-day operation of CEPS is the task of the Central Europe Pipeline The NPS in total consists of some Management Agency located 11 500 kilometers of pipeline running in Versailles, France. through 13 NATO nations with its as- sociated depots, connected air bases, In addition to the above elements of truck and rail loading stations, pump the NPS, there are also fuel systems stations, refi neries and entry points. in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulk distribution is achieved using Poland and Spain. While those in the facilities provided from the common- Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland funded NATO Security Investment are national systems, NATO military Programme (NSIP). The networks are requirements have been incorporated controlled by national organisations, into NSIP-funded projects which are with the exception of CEPS, which is being implemented. The Spanish sys- a multinational system. tem is purely national. In the 1990s, NATO recognized the changed security environment it was operating in as a result of enlargement, Partnership for Peace (PfP) and other cooperation programmes with Central and Eastern Europe, cooperation with other international organisations, and peace sup- port operations in the Balkans. All these developments present signifi cant and new challenges as well as opportunities to NATO’s logistics staffs. 2 NATO Maintenance and missile, the Multiple Launch Rocket NAMSA has developed modern Supply Agency System (MLRS), and the CL-289 materiel management and procure- un-manned aerial vehicle. In future, ment techniques, including the Stock NAMSA plays a key role in logistics. NAMSA will provide in service support Holding and Assets Requirements The agency is the executive arm for the deployable Medium Extended Exchange (SHARE) and Common of the NATO Maintenance and Air Defense System (MEADS). NAM- Item Materiel Management (COM- Supply Organisation, which provides SA is responsible for the depot level MIT). The Agency also provides sup- the structure for logistics support maintenance of the NATO Airborne port for the Group of National Direc- of selected weapons systems in Warning and Control System, the tors on Codifi cation, which manages the national inventories of two or Alliance’s largest commonly funded the NATO Codifi cation System and more NATO nations, through the programme, which is run by the NATO logistics support for deployed NATO common procurement and supply Airborne Early Warning and Control forces. Under the NATO Codifi cation of spare parts and the provision of Programme Management Agency System, items of supply are given a maintenance and repair facilities. in Brunssum, the Netherlands. single NATO stock number. NAMSA’s task is to provide logistic NAMSA is in charge of the storage services in support of weapon and depot for the common equipment equipment systems held in common of a deployable Combined Joint Task by NATO nations, in order to pro- Force in Taranto, southern Italy, the mote materiel readiness, to improve main depot for all NATO’s deployable the effi ciency of logistic operations assets. The agency also procured and to effect savings through con- equipment for the Deployable Joint solidated procurement in the areas Task Force of the NATO Reaction ofof ssupply,upply, maintenance,maintenance, calibration,calibration, Force. procurement,procurement, transportation,transportation, ttechni-echni- The agency shares responsibility calcal support,support, engineeringengineering servicesservices andand with the NATO Communications and conficonfi gurationguration management.management. Information Systems (CIS) Services Agency for stored common deploy- SinceSince itsits creation,creation, tthehe aagencygency hhasas able CIS equipment. NAMSA ensures providedprovided acquisitionacquisition supportsupport forfor thethe the commonality of non-CIS elements Nike,Nike, HawkHawk andand PatriotPatriot surface-to-airsurface-to-air like trucks used to carry shelters to missilemissile systems,systems, thethe TOWTOW anti-tankanti-tank house CIS equipment. 3 4 Balkan experience NATO’s deployment of the Implementation Force (IFOR) to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Decem- ber 1995 revealed shortcomings in Alliance logistic support for peace support operations. The logistic footprint was very large, featuring redundant and ineffi cient national logistic structures. Experiences from IFOR resulted in major revisions to PfP and NATO logistic policies and pro- cedures and highlighted the need for greater multinationality in logistics. IFOR’s 60,000 troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina were deployed and supplied nationally by road, rail, ships and aircraft over relatively short lines of communication. While the force was able to rely on some host