Professionals talk logistics. It is an adage offered around many a military conference room, a time-honored piece of wisdom that serves as a cautionary reminder that logistics both enables and constrains military strategy and to ignore one imperils the other.
Few book-length works have been written specifically on logistics, which are often overlooked by historians who instead focus on the great captains of battle. While exceptions exist, those rare volumes tend to focus on the past, tracing the echoes of history while ignoring the implications of those echoes on future conflict. Military strategy is most assuredly informed by logistics, and contemporary operations reveal that leaders require more professional—and nuanced—discussion of military strategy and logistics.
Drawing on a wealth of experienced and insightful strategists and logisticians, Professionals Talk Logistics explores that relationship from antiquity into the contemporary context and concludes with a cautionary and provocative view through a directed lens of future conflict.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by GENERAL GUS PERNA
Introduction by JON KLUG AND STEVE LEONARD
PART I: PAST: FROM OXEN TO STUDEBAKERS
Chapter 1: Horses, Camels, or Oxen? How the Great Captains Defined the Art of Logistics STEVE LEONARD
Chapter 2: Does Logistics Drive Strategy, or Does Strategy Drive Logistics? JOE WALDEN
Chapter 3: What Ever Happened to the Arsenal of Democracy? A Brief History of the Defense Industrial Base before, during, and after World War II TIM GILHOOL AND SYDNEY SMITH
Chapter 4: Strategy Short of War RON GRENIERI
Chapter 5: The Four Logistical Operations RICHARD KILLBLANE
PART II: PRESENT: SUSTAINING CONTEMPORARY WAR
Chapter 6: An Armor Officer’s Perspective on Logistical Literacy RICH CREED
Chapter 7: The Operational Level of War and Logistics KEVIN BENSON
Chapter 8: At the End of a 6,000-Mile Screwdriver FRANCIS PARK
Chapter 9: Logistics, Operational Warfare, and the War in Ukraine JIM GREER
PART III: FUTURE: BRAVE NEW LOGISTICAL WORLD4
Chapter 10: Toward a Theory of the Supply Chain Environment MATT EVERS
Chapter 11: Artificial Intelligence and Logistics on the Modern Battlefield. STACY TOMIC, MICHAEL POSEY, AND PAUL LUSHENKO
Chapter 12: Darwin Strategic Bastion MICK RYAN
About the Author :
Colonel Jon Klug is the Associate Dean at the United States Army War College. He is a veteran of multiple deployments, an experienced staff officer in American and NATO headquarters, and an award-winning military history instructor at the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, and the Army War College. Jon holds a Ph.D. in History.
Steve Leonard is an award-winning faculty member at the University of Kansas School of Business, former senior military strategist, and career writer and speaker with a passion for developing and mentoring the next generation of thought leaders. Published extensively, he pens a weekly editorial column, Point of Departure, where his writing focuses on issues of leadership and leader development. He is a member of the editorial review boards of Military Strategy Magazine and the Arthur D. Simons Center’s Interagency Journal; and the author, co-author, or editor of several books, including Power Up (2023), To Boldly Go (2021), Why We Write (2019), Winning Westeros (2019), and Strategy Strikes Back (2018).
Review :
"...a compelling exploration of the intricate relationship between military strategy and logistics, emphasizing their interdependence in modern warfare. It not only underscores the critical role of logistics in achieving strategic objectives but also inspires discourse in adapting logistics to future challenges."
ARMY magazine
"...strategist and logistician alike will find this work a compelling read that brings clarity to the need to avoid working in silos..."
Scientia Militaria
"Professionals Talk Logistics provides historical and contemporary insights into the most important and least discussed topic in major military operations. The authors highlight the inseparable link between the widely discussed topic of strategy and the largely overlooked topic of logistics. Covering developments from Alexander to today, this book addresses the toughest problem facing the Joint Force in a Pacific campaign. True professionals will take advantage of this insightful work to help them deal with this immediate challenge."
Dr T.X. Hammes, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Defense University
"This is an intriguing anthology that fills a significant hole in the contemporary security studies literature. The book's exploration of the nexus of strategy and logistics gets to the heart of real strategy as opposed to strategy on paper. Professionals and strategists must consider logistics as it is central to the means and feasibility of any strategy. Highly recommended for professional military and security studies programs."
Frank Hoffman, PhD, National Defense University, USA
"That ‘an army marches on its stomach’ is as true today in the war in Ukraine as it was at the time of Alexander the Great and will remain so in the high-tech conflicts of tomorrow. In this timely and valuable edited volume, “Professionals Talk Logistics”, Jon Klug and Steve Leonard re-link the art and science of supply to the past, present, and future of military strategy and operations."
Joshua C. Huminski, Senior Vice President for National Security & Intelligence Programs Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress
